Holland & Knight Builds Up Team As MSO Deal Demand Rises
Holland & Knight's Legal Services Transactions Team was featured in a Law360 profile about how the firm has built its capacity in the legal industry management services organization (MSO) space and how the group assists clients in this rapidly expanding field. Private Equity attorney Joshua Porte, who co-leads the team alongside legal ethics and regulation attorney Trisha Rich, told Law360, "a lot of investors are really excited about this burgeoning market, and we have numerous law firms approaching us [as clients] about striking up partnerships," with transactions handled by the team featuring Uplift Investors' Orion Legal MSO, estate planning legal technology platform NetLaw and artificial intelligence (AI)-native law firms Norm Law and General Legal.
The article outlined the three main areas of work the group handles: 1) creating law firm MSOs to take on outside investment and guiding subsequent deals, 2) advising on venture capital transactions in which law firms operate alongside technology companies via MSOs to provide clients with tech-enabled services, and 3) establishing MSOs within existing firms so internal stakeholders can hold equity in the organization. It additionally mentioned attorneys Kristin Ornstein, Sam Schaffer, Jessica Berkowitz, Michael Zhang, Courtney Miller, David Jargiello and Kristie Shu – all laterals who represent the "smart and talented people who want to be at the forefront" of this space and whose additions have amplified the group's presence, according to Trish.
Looking ahead, Josh and Trish predicted the business and practice of law will continue to transform with the entrance of private equity and outside capital, migrating from a personal injury focus into insurance defense, corporate law and, ultimately, Big Law. In the meantime, the firm will continue to stay abreast of what Josh termed "a totally unique generational opportunity" to build a practice in a completely new area.
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