The market for legal services is being reshaped by private capital, technology-enabled delivery models and growing pressure to modernize law firm operations. But law firms remain governed by professional responsibility rules that restrict nonlawyer ownership, fee sharing and interference with lawyer independence.

That’s where we come in.

Legal sector clients need workable transaction structures — especially management services organization (MSOs) and other alternative arrangements — so that growth, investment and operational change can proceed without compromising professional judgment or regulatory compliance.

Our attorneys advise a broad range of stakeholders on the formation, governance and regulatory compliance of MSO platforms in the legal sector, including:

• Law firm partnerships
• Private equity firms
• VC funds
• Financial sponsors
• Technology-enabled service companies

We bring together seasoned deal and regulatory lawyers to guide clients through the complex intersection of legal ethics, state-level ownership restrictions and the innovative business structures optimized for tax considerations that are reshaping how legal services are delivered and financed.

We work with clients to construct MSO frameworks that preserve the independence of professional judgment, create meaningful economic alignment between operators and investors, and position organizations for sustainable expansion — all while carefully managing ethical, regulatory and operational exposure. Drawing on a nationwide presence, significant experience with MSO structures in the healthcare and veterinary care space, and a concentrated focus on legal-sector regulation, we help clients evaluate the opportunities and the constraints that accompany private capital, new market participants and evolving service-delivery models.

Our Core Capabilities

MSO Formation and Structural Design

Building compliant organizational architectures that draw a clear boundary between the exercise of professional legal judgment and the management of business operations, enabling scale, operational improvement and modernization, without compromising independence.

Regulatory and Ethics Advice

Delivering jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction analysis of non-lawyer ownership limitations, professional-conduct requirements, alternative business structure frameworks and newly emerging regulatory guidance, supported by ongoing tracking of legislative and rulemaking activity.

Investment and Growth Transactions

Representing parties in equity raises, debt financings, platform recapitalizations, consolidation strategies, add-on acquisitions and strategic investments that involve law firms, MSO platforms, PE sponsors, legal technology businesses and alternative service providers.

Governance and Incentive Alignment

Advising on the commercial and governance architecture of MSO–law firm relationships, including management agreements, resource-sharing arrangements, compensation structures, capital-allocation mechanisms and long-term growth planning.

Multidisciplinary, Single-Source Counsel

Coordinating corporate, finance, regulatory, technology and sector-specialist capabilities within a single engagement team, eliminating the inefficiency and coordination risk of retaining multiple outside firms.

Differentiating Strengths

We offer an uncommon combination of deep institutional familiarity with legal-industry economics and hands-on execution capability across complex transactions. By pairing fluency in professional regulation frameworks with proven deal-execution skills, the team enables clients to pursue MSO and alternative-structure strategies with a clear understanding of the regulatory boundaries and commercial possibilities.

Our advisory approach is rooted in disciplined analysis, real-time market intelligence, and a practitioner’s understanding of how law firms and legal enterprises actually function. This enables us to equip clients with the tools and structures they need to capitalize on emerging opportunities, contain downside risk and advance strategic objectives within a fast-moving and highly regulated landscape