Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, March 21, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 091 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Alcohol an issue for young lawyers Statewide, local efforts available to help attorneys during struggles
There are plenty of reasons for young and aspiring attorneys to stress. Student loans. Gradution. Finding a job. Keeping that job. Impressing the boss. Billablehour pressures. Maybe even hanging your own shingle. That’s not even considering the added layer of starting or taking
care of a family for many. It’s a weight more and more young attorneys are turning to alcohol to handle, according to a recent study. The numbers show about one in five attorneys of the 12,825 licensed, employed attorneys surveyed screened positive for “hazardous” or “harmful” levels of drinking that can lead to dependence. The numbers didn’t surprise
Lindsay Tygart, an Edwards & Ragatz attorney and president of The Jacksonville Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section. There are more attorneys vying for jobs and work than ever before. More law students pursuing the field. “It’s an incredibly unfortunate reality that young lawyers are facing these days,” said Tygart. Michael Cohen is not surprised — at least not by the overall
numbers. The executive director of the Florida Lawyers Assistance Program said the overall figures are in line with what’s been assumed for 20 years. The shocking part to Cohen is the numbers reveal that close to one-third — 31.9 percent — of those with issues were attorneys who were 30 and younger. “It was always thought that as lawyers go further and further in
Family members helping spruce up the judge
Best real estate deals shift areas For those who are timing the housing market, three years ago would have been a good time to pick up a home in Riverside, San Marco, Mandarin or the Beaches. Last year, prices popped in West Arlington, Murray Hill, Southside and parts of the Northwest. Probably no one has been more attuned to the shift than investors, many of whom work in “B” and “C” markets. “I’m seeing it and I am cashing in on it also,” said Alex Rose of Green Palm Realty. The family-owned brokerage manages about 50 rental homes. But Rose also buys about two dozen flips and rehab-rentals a year for himself and other investors. In 2014, he was easily flipping 1980s houses in the Intracoastal Jacksonville area and Mandarin — places where he could be sure of a quick sale. But in 2015, the comps didn’t add up. He
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Last year, the price rebound in Jacksonville was strongest for mid-range homes. Alex Rose bought this 1960s rehab in Arlington for $75,000. It was an older block home where 90 percent of the roof had to be replaced.
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Photo by Carole Hawkins
Price pop now in ‘B’ market homes
found himself looking at 1960s houses in West Arlington and Murray Hill instead. It paid off. “I had properties that would last zero days on the market,” said Rose. “And, I wasn’t asking a cheap amount of money, either. Our prices were 10 percent above those of neighboring homes that had been renovated.” The housing recovery that hit Beaches and Riverside properties first is now sweeping through Jacksonville’s “B” markets. The median sales price in Arlington increased 12 percent last year; Southside, 15.6 percent; and Murray Hill, 25.2 percent. Compare that to “A” markets like Mandarin, where prices rose 6.9 percent; Riverside, 4.5 percent; or Jacksonville Beach, 2.7 percent. It’s meant a shift in fortunes and opportunities for investors. Alex Sifakis is president of JWB Real ‘B’ market continued on Page A-11
Numbers a ‘reversal’
Cohen said the study provides valuable insight and empirical evidence to issues that haven’t had a hard look in more than 20 years. The latest survey was Alcohol
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Fresh Market struggled before $1.36B agreement
Circuit Judge Gary Wilkinson gets help with his robe from his children, Jenny and Danny, and his wife, Karen, during his investiture Thursday at the Duval County Courthouse. Gov. Rick Scott appointed Wilkinson in August. See more photos from the investiture on Page A-8.
By Carole Hawkins Staff Writer
their career, the more problems they’d have with substances,” said Cohen. “It turned out to be 180 degrees.”
Stock slumping before buyout
Photo courtesy of Ed Fernandez / Executive Video & Photographic
By David Chapman Staff Writer
The Fresh Market Inc. is growing in the Jacksonville market, after opening its fourth area store on Riverside Avenue in 2014 and planning a fifth store on Fleming Island this year. However, sales were lagging and its stock price had dropped sharply from its 2012 peak. So shortly after new CEO Rick Anicetti joined the specialty grocery chain in September, Fresh Market basically put itself up for sale. Last week, it announced a $1.36 billion buyout agreement by funds managed by Apollo Global Management LLC. Apollo agreed to pay $28.50 for each Fresh Market share, which the company noted was 24 percent higher than the stock’s trading price before the deal was announced and about 53 percent higher than its price in February prior to “press speculation regarding a potential transaction.” That speculation was conventional supermarket chain The Kroger Co. was interesting in buying Fresh Market, but then Kroger at one time or another is rumored to be interested in just about every grocery chain. The buyout price is less than half the stock’s value in the low $60s when it peaked in 2013. The stock had fallen back close to its 2010 initial public offering price of $22 when Fresh Market announced in October it was undergoing a strategic review of alternatives, which could include a sale. Greensboro, N.C.-based Fresh Market Basch continued on Page A-7
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