Law Firms, Ethics, and Equity Capital: A Conversation

Abstract:     
This paper is an exchange among Bruce Macewen, Milton Regan and Larry Ribstein on the potential implications of pending legislation in the United Kingdom that would permit outside non-lawyer investment in law firms. Such ownership is forbidden by ethics rules in the United States, but the participants discuss whether the rules would permit a law firm to sell derivative securities reflecting the value of the firm. The discussion quickly expands into an analysis of the possible impact of publicly-traded law firms on the global market in legal services, the obligations of lawyers to their clients, the role of lawyers in sustaining a well-functioning legal system, and the self-understanding of lawyers as professionals. With significant change in law firm financing just over the horizon, the aim of the paper is to prompt a wide-ranging discussion about the future of the legal profession in a global economy.

Keywords: non-lawyer, law firms

Accepted Paper Series