Indirect Ownership & Law Firms: Is Private Equity Already Your Competition? with Jonathan Hawkins - The Law Deals Podcast Episode 33
Update: 2025-09-23
Description
In this episode of The Law Deals Podcast—the second in our two-part series with attorney Jonathan Hawkins, founder and managing partner of Law Firm GC—we shift the focus to indirect ownership of law firms and the growing role of management and legal service organizations.
Jonathan and I explore how private equity structures deals to acquire everything but the practice of law itself, relying management agreements to control staffing, marketing, billing, and back-office functions. We break down the ethical challenges under Rule 5.4, the risks of fee-sharing through service arrangements, and why control, whether actual or effective, is the central issue regulators are watching.
Whether or not you ever interact directly with private equity, these indirect ownership models are shaping the competitive landscape and influencing how law firms attract capital, structure succession, and plan for the future.
Jonathan and I explore how private equity structures deals to acquire everything but the practice of law itself, relying management agreements to control staffing, marketing, billing, and back-office functions. We break down the ethical challenges under Rule 5.4, the risks of fee-sharing through service arrangements, and why control, whether actual or effective, is the central issue regulators are watching.
Whether or not you ever interact directly with private equity, these indirect ownership models are shaping the competitive landscape and influencing how law firms attract capital, structure succession, and plan for the future.
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