Holland & Knight Advises Uplift Investors' Orion Legal MSO on Partnership with Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers
NEW YORK (May 22, 2026) – Holland & Knight's Legal Services Transactions Team represented Orion Legal MSO, a managed service organization (MSO) that supports plaintiff firms, on its partnership with Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers, a law firm that practices across Kentucky and Tennessee. Orion Legal MSO is owned by Darien, Connecticut-based Uplift Investors, a middle-market private equity firm with a business model-centric focus on services investing.
The partnership with Hughes & Coleman supports the continued expansion of Orion's national platform, building on its founding partnership with Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers, announced in January. Orion will provide Hughes & Coleman with non-legal operational support services, including marketing, finance, technology, talent and administrative infrastructure, designed to enable attorneys to focus on client advocacy and legal outcomes.
Additionally, Orion will provide the same non-legal operational support services to Ron Bell Injury Lawyers, a New Mexico firm with which Hughes & Coleman formed a partnership in 2008. There is no change to ownership or control of either firm.
The Holland & Knight team advising Orion was led by Partner Trisha Rich (Legal Profession Regulation) and Partners Joshua Porte and Chrystie Holmstrom (M&A). They were supported by Partner Stephen Quinn and Associates Peter Raffanti, Alexis Dunne, Tracy Walker, Tom Stephenson and Remy Farkas (M&A); Partner Lindsay Murphy and Associates Rachel Long and Connor Jordan (Executive Compensation & Benefits); Partners Shane Morris and Stacy Hooper and Associate Christine Younger (Tax); Associates Leonard Brahin, William Ringhofer and Evan Rosen (Legal Profession Regulation); Partner Julian Bibb and Associate Allysan Scatterday (Intellectual Property); Associates Noah Camp, John Weber and Andrew Wood (Real Estate); and Associate Lee Sands (Labor & Employment).
The team advised on transaction structure, regulatory and ethical considerations, and supporting matters associated with the MSO model. More information on the transaction can be found here.
Holland & Knight's Legal Services Transactions Team is supported by nearly 50 lawyers spanning corporate, mergers and acquisitions, finance, legal ethics, legal regulation, tax, employment, venture capital, fund formation and related disciplines. The team's work spans the full life cycle of legal services transactions, from initial structuring through execution and operational implementation. This transaction marks the 11th that Holland & Knight has closed in the legal MSO space since January 2026.