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&lt;p&gt;When the UK&amp;rsquo;s Legal Services Act comes into force next year, law firms will be able to adopt a range of alternative business structures in place of traditional partnerships, with non-lawyers in professional, management or ownership roles. From an American&amp;nbsp;perspective, perhaps the most radical implication of the Act is that UK law firms will be able to raise (presumably) millions of pounds from external investors. Today, the &lt;i&gt;Times&lt;/i&gt; (London) takes a look at an industry gearing up for major change:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;ldquo;It&amp;rsquo;s going to change the way firms look at the provision of legal services. Nobody will be untouched by these changes,&amp;rdquo;&lt;/i&gt; [according to a Deloitte partner]&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;[E]xternal funding is likely to be embraced most enthusiastically by small and mid-tier firms. The prospect of flotation is particularly attractive to those that carry out a lot of straightforward work, such as personal injury cases, that can be standardised through investment in technology and processes.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;According to the article, up to 60 firms (none are named)&amp;nbsp;may be planning to raise outside capital through an IPO, from private equity, or &amp;ldquo;family funding.&amp;rdquo; Three of these firms are planning to raise a &amp;ldquo;war chest for acquisitions&amp;rdquo; of more than &amp;pound;20 million.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The &lt;i&gt;Times&lt;/i&gt; notes that the new rules are &amp;ldquo;expected to transform the legal sector, as deregulation did financial services in the 1980s.&amp;rdquo; So what could &lt;em&gt;possibly&lt;/em&gt; go wrong?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In the United States, Professor Larry Ribstein is among the foremost advocates of reforming law firm ownership structures. Ribstein&amp;rsquo;s research paper &amp;ldquo;The Death of Big Law&amp;rdquo; is probably the definitive argument for non-lawyer financing for law firms. See also Bruce MacEwen&amp;rsquo;s interview with the managing partner of the world&amp;rsquo;s first publicy-traded law firm, Australia&amp;rsquo;s Slater &amp;amp; Gordon. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;- posted by brian&lt;/p&gt;

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