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It's just idiocy to think that anyone can turn a personal service business into something that can be floated on the stock exchange.
I have always been a sole practitioner and have had staff lawyers. The problem is that everyone looks at their own situation and tries to bill enough to cover their own costs to the firm. All fee earners are reluctant to work harder to line the pockets of the proprietors unless there is an incentive, such as partnership. What is the incentive to work harder to pay shareholders who don't contribute any fees? The whole concept is silly because anyone who wanted to progress in the profession would go and work somewhere where they had an opportunity to share in the profits. What this move towards outside funding represents is an attempt by partners of law firms to off-load their debt burden on unsuspecting investors who are awed by the concept of getting control of a law firm, thinking that lawyers are all rich, money generators. The truth of the matter is that many law firms around the world are struggling. You only see this, in many cases, when the firms close down or go bust. I've seen many law firms resort to fraud on junior partners, false accounting to show inflated profitability and padding of bills to clients. I've seen large law firms go bankrupt and elderly lawyers ending up with huge mortgages against their homes because they have carried debt of their practice throughout their careers. All of this in Canada where I started my practice.