Is nonlawyer ownership of law firms long overdue? Or a bad idea?
This week, we noted that until Monday, May 2, the ABA is seeking comments on an issues paper that considers the risks and benefits of alternative business structures allowing nonlawyer ownership of law firms—which is currently permitted in the United Kingdom, Australia, and to a limited extent in Washington, D.C.
Nonlawyer ownership could increase capital for law firms and help them strengthen their management teams with nonlawyers. But there are concerns that nonlawyer ownership will threaten lawyers’ independent professional judgment.
The debate has been raging for years. This week, we’d like to ask you: Is nonlawyer ownership of law firms long overdue? Or a bad idea?
Answer in the comments.
Read the answer to last week’s question: What are some tech tools that have changed your law practice?
Featured answer:
Posted by John Hollingsworth: “IAnnotate and my iPad. It has enabled me to become paperless in my transaction practice. No longer is it necessary to print documents in order to review them. I have never been able to review agreements on a monitor with the same level of care as with paper. Using an iPad, I have found I can achieve the same quality of review as with paper. iAnnotate allows me to mark up the documents as if it were paper, only much better.”
Do you have an idea for a future question of the week? If so, contact us.
