Partners at even the most profitable Wall Street firms might be a little green with envy at the news from Down Under. A handful of lawyers at Australia’s 140-lawyer Slater & Gordon are due to share in a financial windfall in the world’s first initial public offering by a law firm. On listing, seven principals — as partners at Slater & Gordon are known — will each own stakes worth between $2 million and $8.5 million. (Australian dollar figures have been converted into U.S. dollars.) In total, 42 lawyers and other staff will receive shares in the new public company, which will have a market capitalization of $89.7 million.
The prospect of a Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz appearing on the New York Stock Exchange or Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati making its Nasdaq debut is still a distant one, since U.S. bar rules still prohibit law firms from tapping the public markets. But in the United Kingdom, law firm IPOs are likely to be a reality within the next few years. They promise to transform partnerships and mark another step in the corporatization of law firms. A handful of the 30 largest U.K. firms are already talking to consultants about the pros and cons of going public.
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