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Potential US non-lawyer investors identified
Three New York bankers are thought to be at the head of a queue of those aiming to be among the first non-lawyer investors in US law firms, if state laws can be amended to allow external capital in the American legal sector.
New York: Jacoby & Meyers investment plea thrown out by court
Financial and business web site Bloomberg.com claims that Anthony Costa, Philip Guarnieri and Michael Ostrow -- all directors at New York bank ES Bancshares – are aiming to invest in Jacoby & Meyers, the California-based discount law firm with storefront offices across the US.
However, those three and other similarly minded investors could face a long wait. Jacoby & Meyers has applied to federal courts in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to change state laws forbidding non-lawyers from owning interests in law firms. While the case was allowed to proceed in New Jersey – and is pending in Connecticut -- it was thrown out by a New York judge yesterday.
Significant funds
The New York Law Journal reported that Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that the firm’s challenge must fail, as there are many rules forbidding non-lawyer investment but the firm only attacked one.
According to the New York court papers seen by Bloomberg, the three potential investors have pledged ‘significant funds’ to devote to Jacoby & Meyers in return for an owning interest. The papers do not identify the occupations of the three investors, nor does it mention ESBS, which has a market value of around $7.9 million.
External investment
That ruling falls against building anticipation across the Atlantic, where the Solicitors Regulation Authority is on the brink of authorising the first legal sector alternative business structures, some of which are likely to involve external investment and non-lawyer ownership.
However, those three and other similarly minded investors could face a long wait. Jacoby & Meyers has applied to federal courts in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to change state laws forbidding non-lawyers from owning interests in law firms. While the case was allowed to proceed in New Jersey – and is pending in Connecticut -- it was thrown out by a New York judge yesterday.
Significant funds
The New York Law Journal reported that Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that the firm’s challenge must fail, as there are many rules forbidding non-lawyer investment but the firm only attacked one.
According to the New York court papers seen by Bloomberg, the three potential investors have pledged ‘significant funds’ to devote to Jacoby & Meyers in return for an owning interest. The papers do not identify the occupations of the three investors, nor does it mention ESBS, which has a market value of around $7.9 million.
External investment
That ruling falls against building anticipation across the Atlantic, where the Solicitors Regulation Authority is on the brink of authorising the first legal sector alternative business structures, some of which are likely to involve external investment and non-lawyer ownership.
