Post by @dkluft@mastodon.sdf.org

#LegalEthics Tidbit: Can I partner with an ABS if my state doesn’t allow them?

An Alternative Business Structure (ABS) is essentially a law firm owned in part by non-lawyers, which is a no-no in most states but not in AZ. SC does not allow ABS structures, but an AZ ABS wanted to find a SC lawyer to take SC lawyer cases. The deal would be that the ABS finds the clients, then gets local counsel to do most, if not ... (cont.)

https://www.scbar.org/for-lawyers/quicklinks/legal-resources/ethics-advisory-opinions/ethics-advisory-opinion-25-02/
#law #lawfedi

View

#legalethics #lawfedi #law

2 Replies

1 Boost

David Kluft

@dkluft@mastodon.sdf.org 3 hr. ago

... all, of the legal work. The local counsel shares the fee with the ABS and, by extension, it’s non-lawyer partners.

The SC Bar, with reference to other opinions in TX and MD, put the kibosh on this arrangement. Rule 5.4 prohibits fee sharing with non-lawyers. The opinion went out of its way to warn the ABS that slightly tweaking the payment arrangement will not help: “the manipulation of the method of effectuating the split between Lawyer and … and ABS … is irrelevant.”

... (cont.)

David Kluft

@dkluft@mastodon.sdf.org 3 hr. ago

... [Ed. Note: The whole ABS thing was pitched to regulators in the same way for-profit entities always attempt to convince us to diminish ethical regulation: they promise that allowing brilliant entrepreneurs to innovate will lead to “access to justice” (because we all agree venture capitalists have done so much more than lawyers to protect civil rights for the poor, right? Right??). If local counsel does all the work and just pays a fee to the ABS afterwards, the ABS is not an ... (cont.)