The long-simmering debate about the merits or perils of lifting the ban on 'alternative business structures' in the US legal market seems to have amounted to very little. After it was originally speculated that the American Bar Association might debate the possible shake-up at its annual meeting this summer, the May 10 deadline set by the ABA House of Delegates for the submission of a formal proposal on the issue has slid by without comment or contribution from the ABA group in charge of the ABS debate, the Commission on the Future of the Legal Profession. Widespread and often impassioned opposition to the move may have contributed to the Commission’s decision to let the deadline fly under the radar. A 16-page summary of industry feedback published by the ABA in April contained comments from more than 30 legal organisations and 43 individual attorneys, 42 of which expressed opposition to lifting the ban on non-lawyer ownership.

Source: Big Law Business