ABA Sides Against Opening Law Firms Up to New Competition (1)

The American Bar Association is pouring cold water on efforts to loosen restrictions on who can own law firms, including moves that could open firms up to new competition from corporations.

The group’s House of Delegates on Tuesday passed a non-binding resolution discouraging changes to state rules barring the sharing of legal fees with non-lawyers. But it also encouraged state bar groups to explore innovations designed to increase access to justice by making legal services more affordable.

“By reaffirming our core value of independence of the legal profession and the prohibition against nonlawyer ownership, the ABA House’s action today is ...