Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione, LAWorld member for Los Angeles, California, USA, served as lead counsel to Wood Smith Henning & Berman (“WSHB”), a national law firm with more than 550 lawyers across 23 states, in connection with the formation of WSHB Support Services, a management services organization (“MSO”), established to provide non-legal operational infrastructure and support to WSHB. Private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners invested in the newly formed MSO.
In a statement, WSHB said that the capital from Charlesbank into the MSO will help the firm expand geographically and invest in technology, artificial intelligence and data science capabilities while still remaining an independent law firm with “sole authority over the practice of law and client matters.”
Non-lawyers, including outside investors, are generally prohibited from holding ownership interests in US law firms or sharing in legal fees. The transaction represents a significant development in the legal industry, demonstrating how the MSO structure can facilitate outside investment without breaching those professional rules while preserving the professional independence of the law firm and its attorneys.
Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione’s Managing Partner, Lawrence R. Barnett, said: “This transaction was both monumental for WSHB and for the American legal market and we were delighted to have been involved. It is particularly significant to our industry because lawyers, consultants and other businesses are increasingly marketing their expertise in advising on such deals.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the transaction is one of the most notable examples of investment in the legal industry through an MSO, highlighting investors’ growing interest in the sector.
The Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione business transactions team was led by Lawrence R. Barnett and included Mark Tizabgar, Brian Heitzer, Stacey Klein, Josephine Wu, Hanna Sherman, and G. Raymond F. Gross.
Author
Stacey Klein
sklein@ghplaw.com
Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione
Los Angeles, CA, USA
https://www.ghplaw.com/
