'I Want to Invest a Billion Dollars in a UK Law Firm' – Has Private Equity and Law's Big Moment Arrived?

Legal ethics attorneys Joshua Porte and Trisha Rich were cited in a LegalBusiness article about private equity's burgeoning interest in the legal sector. The United Kingdom (UK) has already seen a number of high-profile transactions, with investments and consolidations making headlines. This activity is also seen across the pond in the United States, despite stricter regulations on law firm ownership. Because of the limitations on external capital, investors in U.S. firms are turning to management services organizations (MSOs), a corporate structure that separates the business and administrative functions of a law firm from the legal practice. Under this model, private equity firms invest in the back-office entity that handles said administrative functions, thus enabling both parties to work around prohibitions on non-lawyers owning firms. Mr. Porte, who together with Ms. Rich has advised on more than a dozen law firm MSO deals, commented on the growth of MSOs' popularity in the legal industry.

"Everything has changed this calendar year," he said. "Some of these deals are really solid middle-market transactions. Significant equity and debt checks are being written."

READ: 'I Want to Invest a Billion Dollars in a UK Law Firm' – Has Private Equity and Law's Big Moment Arrived? (Subscription required)