Keep Private Equity Out of the Law: All You Need To Know!

Over the last decade, private equity firms have been buying up medical practices across the country. The results have not been encouraging. Patients have watched costs rise, appointments shorten, and decision-making shift away from what’s best for their health and toward what’s best for an investor’s bottom line.

At its core, medicine depends on trust. You need to believe that your doctor is recommending a treatment because it’s right for you—not because it helps someone hit a quarterly earnings target. The more layers of corporate ownership and bureaucracy that get in the way of the patient-physician relationship, the worse that is for patient care.

We should take that lesson to heart before welcoming private equity into the practice of law.

Why It Matters for Law?

The attorney–client relationship is no less sacred than the doctor–patient bond. When you hire a lawyer, you expect that your attorney’s loyalty is undivided—that every piece of advice, every decision, is guided by your best interests. If law firms were owned, even in part, by outside investors, that allegiance could be compromised.

In practice, this conflict could inspire a lawyer to manage a case not for justice, but for profit margins. A client’s future could be shaped by what makes the best financial sense for shareholders rather than what is right for that client.

That’s not the legal system anyone wants.

The Difference With Lawyer-Owned Firms

Law firms are run by practicing attorneys.  Their “shareholders” are their clients. Their reputations are built over time by doing good work, earning trust, and zealously advocating on behalf of the people they represent.

Reputation is brand. It can’t be manufactured with advertising dollars or propped up by outside money. It is earned, slowly and deliberately, through honesty, hard work, and results.

Keep the Focus Where It Belongs

Just as patients don’t need more bureaucracy between them and their doctors, clients don’t need private equity meddling in the practice of law. Both professions rely on personal trust and professional integrity. Diluting that with investor demands risks turning essential services into just another commodity.

The legal profession should stay true to what it has always been: a calling rooted in service, not a financial instrument. For consumers, the safest choice will always be a firm run by lawyers who answer to one group and one group only—their clients.