Tani Sapirstein

For attorney Tani Sapirstein, downtown Springfield is not just where she works — it is what makes her work possible. As a civil litigator focused on employment law with the firm Sapirstein & Sapirstein, she is in and out of the courthouse constantly, and being just three blocks away changes everything. “Even if I’m on trial and I have a lot to bring, I can just wheel it over,” she says — no driving, no hunting for parking, no delay.

That walkable proximity ripples through her whole day. She parks once in the morning and does not touch her car again until night, handling court filings, professional printing across the street, and lunch nearby, all on foot. The convenience is not just hers: it supports the print shops, restaurants, and services that the downtown legal community keeps in business.

For a downtown law practice, her point is simple: close and accessible is everything. Move the courthouse out of the district, she notes, and that seamless, walkable workday — along with the local businesses it sustains — becomes a great deal harder to keep.