The idea of allowing nonlawyers to hold ownership in law firms has taken hold in Australia, the United Kingdom, parts of Canada, and in Washington, D.C. Now the American Bar Association is discussing whether the concept should expand across the United States.
Current ABA ethics rules say that only lawyers may share directly in legal fees, but each state has the final say. A bill to allow 49 percent outside ownership in law firms is pending in North Carolina. And in May the personal injury law firm Jacoby & Meyers filed suit challenging the ban on outside investors in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
