Arizona Bar Wants Tighter Restrictions on Investor-Fueled Firms

Arizona must do more to prevent investor-backed law firms from using the state solely as a launch pad to provide services elsewhere, according to its bar association.

The State Bar of Arizona in a Tuesday public comment panned proposed changes to regulations on alternative business structures, law firms permitted by the state to take non-lawyer investment. The changes, advanced Feb. 10, do not go far enough to ensure that those firms are primarily serving consumers in Arizona, the group said.

“The proposed language fails to place the burden on the applicant to demonstrate how licensure will benefit people or entities ...