The future of the global law firm

In the wake of the Blackstone IPO I wrote last month about the possibility of publicly traded law firms. Now you can read some more ruminations in this vein by me and two expert commentators on the legal profession – Bruce MacEwen, who writes at Adam Smith, Esq., and Georgetown's Mitt Regan.

Our takeoff point was actually Bruce's idea about a derivative instrument that might comply with current ethical limitations on non-lawyer ownership. This evolved into an exchange on publicly traded law firms and, more generally, the future of the global firm. As Professor Regan summarizes the paper that embodies the exchange:

The paper consists of correspondence among Professor Regan; Bruce MacEwen, an expert on law firm economics and editor of the online publication Adam Smith, Esq.; and Professor Larry Ribstein of the University of Illinois Law School, an expert on partnership law. Current ethics rules in every state forbid any non-lawyers from having an ownership interest in a law firm. Beginning with an inquiry by Mr. MacEwen, the participants in the exchange first discuss whether these rules would permit firms to sell financial instruments such as derivatives whose value is based on the firms' profitability. The discussants then move on to the broader subject of the arguments for and against allowing firms to raise money in the stock market.* * *

To get the full flavor of the exchange, read the whole thing.  We hope discussion of the idea will take flight over the next few months, including on this and other blogs, and at a planned Symposium on the Future of the Global Law Firm to be held a year from now at Georgetown's Center for the Study of the Legal Profession.