Burford Capital Seeks to Buy Equity Stakes in U.S. Law Firms

Legal ethics attorneys Trisha Rich, Joshua Porte and Leonard Brahin were cited in a Financial Times article about Burford Capital's plans to invest in U.S. law firms and how management services organizations (MSOs) could enable the move. Longstanding rules prohibit nonlawyer ownership of law firms in the U.S., but MSOs could provide a way for private equity firms to move forward with deals without violating those rules. Under these structures, a law firm splits its operations: MSOs handle administrative services such as billing for a fee, while lawyers continue to focus on the practice of law. The article cited an alert authored by Ms. Rich, Mr. Porte and Mr. Brahin about a Texas ethics ruling indicating support for this model, which has been popular in the healthcare and accounting industries.

"Properly structured, MSOs can assist law firms in innovating and professionalizing their operations," the attorneys noted.

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