Law Practice,
Ethics/Professional Responsibility
May 27, 2016
Are you ready for nonlawyer investors?
The American Bar Association is currently considering whether to change its policy prohibiting nonlawyer ownership of law firms.
Teresa J. Schmid
Director
American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility
Email: teresa.schmid@schmidwatsonlaw.com
Teresa is a professional responsibility attorney and consultant in management and public policy. A former executive director for the State Bar of Arizona and the Oregon State Bar, and former assistant chief trial counsel for the State Bar of California, she is the secretary for the Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee for the Los Angeles County Bar Association. The views expressed are her own.
On April 8, the American Bar Association's Commission on the Future of Legal Services released for public comment an Issues Paper Regarding Alternative Business Structures (ABS), legal service business models that are currently prohibited by rules of professional conduct in most jurisdictions, including California. CRCP Rule 1-320 and its counterpart, ABA Model Rule 5.4, prohibit lawyers and law firms from sharing fees with nonlawyers. At issue is whether the commission will recommend that...
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