That's pretty fucking retarded FC, it isn't us who has this problem. It's the restrictions on who we're allowed to share fees with. I would love to be able to give you a cut of the fees for everybody you brought in to me. I'd start running commercials promising $500 for referring a friend. Fuck, I'd start having college kids hanging out in emergency rooms passing out card and paying them on a percentage of what I collect. I'd go absolutely apeshit.
It eliminates the idea of malpractice as a practical matter because I always get to point the finger at corporate. That's an excuse we don't have now. "Hey, sorry client, we didn't do that deposition because a six-sigma black belt told management that we weren't getting enough of a return off of them. Sorry, you're fucked, would you like their number?"
The most interesting part of FC's take is that non-lawyer ownership will somehow make thing more efficient and better. I have no fucking idea why he would think this. Currently there are a lot non-lawyer owned law firms. Almost every bank and insurance company has them. They are absolutely allowed to have their lawyers represent them. And in Texas insurance company lawyers are allowed to represent their policy holders when sued. Want to guess who does the shittiest work and is the least efficient? Who shows up for trial with 5 boxes of files that have never been read and didn't answer discovery? Want to guess who routinely gets their ass handed to them because they're efficient and cut waste? Nobody fears Bank of America, etc. when they start suing. We all know "that guy" in Houston files about 2,500 cases per month with just him and 40 part time contract workers. We all know that when we subpoena his documents that he can't produce them in the time allotted and he loses his case. He knows this game as well as anybody.
See, we used to allow fee sharing with non-lawyers. It didn't get the death grip it has now until recently. The public demanded it, not us. The public got pissed when they signed up at one place and their cases were bought and sold, er "referred out." The public got pissed with the guys passing out cards at accident scenes and direct mail ads every time they got a ticket. The public got pissed when the guy would get on TV with actors advertising how he gets millions in judgments, but leaves out that he collect nothing on the worthless judgment. The marketing rules aren't going to change because an outside source bought the firm.
I can't emphasize this enough. It's not us who asked for this shit. I'd be happy as hell if I could sell my firm to a hedgefund. I'd get paid what I want. Go across the street and watch the same corporate clients follow me there like they've done that last few times I've moved. Let's face it, the firm's value is only tied to it's clients. They get to choose who they want to do their work.
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