US firm Jacoby & Meyers continues legal challenge to law firm partnership model

US firm Jacoby & Meyers continues its campaign for non-lawyers to be permitted to have a financial stake in law firms, filing a new brief Manhattan federal court on Friday. The proceedings began in May, when the firm filed a lawsuit seeking to have Rule 5.4 of New York Rules of Professional Conduct (which prohibits non-lawyer investment in law firms) struck down as unconstitutional. The latest brief filed with the Court responds to Attorney General’s application to have the matter dismissed. The Attorney argued that Rule 5.4 is necessary to ensure that a lawyer's independence and loyalty to clients is not compromised by conflicts that would arise when a firm becomes beholden to its investors. In this latest brief Jacoby & Meyers argues that "there is no inherent linkage between the concepts of financing and ethical conduct."

US firm Jacoby & Meyers continues legal challenge to law firm partnership model newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com Thu, Sep 1, 2011