To See Future of Legal Services, Look to UK

The “Alternative Business Structures” model for law firms, which has been allowed in the UK since 2011, has triggered major changes to the UK legal marketplace and will have repercussions internationally, writes Mark A. Cohen on his Legal Mosaic blog. “While ABS structures, IPO’s, and rollups may be anathema to some legal purists, they are clearly a part of today’s global legal landscape,” he says. “Whether they align the interests of the various stakeholders in the legal ecosystem (law students/the Academy; legal providers; and legal consumers) and provide better outcomes for each remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the UK is in the vanguard of innovation in legal delivery and will likely serve as the headquarters from which that change will proliferate around the globe.”