The Non-Lawyer Firm Ownership Debate Is Officially Closed, For Now

Well, there is always next year.  Non-lawyer firm ownership has not taken root in the United States but is spreading in other jurisdictions.

“There was no funeral, but the prospect that the American Bar Association would consider non-lawyer ownership of firms at its annual meeting this summer has quietly died. The ABA’s House of Delegates needed to see a formal proposal on so-called “alternative business structures,” which allow non-lawyer ownership, by May 10. Alas, the Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession, the ABA group in charge of the debate over ABS, allowed the deadline to pass without submitting anything.”

Read: The Debate Over Non-Lawyer Firm Ownership Is Officially Closed, For Now at Bloomberg BNA Business of Law