Word from Mitt Regan: Here is a a short paper that the Georgetown University Law Center has just published entitled Law Firms, Ethics, and Equity Capital. The paper is a discussion of rules governing ownership of law firms among [Mitt Regan]; Bruce MacEwen, the editor of the on-line publication Adam Smith, Esq.; and Larry Ribstein, a Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, an expert on partnership law and regulation of professionals. The impetus for the exchange is pending legislation in the United Kingdom that would permit outside non-lawyer investment in law firms. Such ownership is forbidden by all state ethics rules in the United States, but the exchange discusses whether law firm sale of securities reflecting the value of the firm also would be prohibited under these rules. The discussion quickly expands into an analysis of the possible implications of publicly-traded law firms for 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, our aim is to prompt a wide-ranging discussion about the future of the legal profession in a global economy.
If you have thougths on the paper, feel free to contact Mitt Regan, and/or leave some thoughts here.