Legal MSO Webinar, CLE Credit
Legal MSOs: Ethics, Economics, and Options
A Two Hour CLE Webinar for Law Firm Partners
Why This Matters
Most law firm partners spend their careers working nights and weekends, managing HR issues, technology problems, payroll, and vendors, while still carrying full responsibility for growth and risk. The traditional partnership model rewards effort with income, but rarely with time freedom, scalability, or a meaningful liquidity event.
That is now changing. Standard (zero equity) Legal MSOs are relieving partners of operational burden and restoring focus. Fund Backed MSOs and alternative capital structures are creating new opportunities for upfront capital, infusion of further capital for improved systems and accelerated growth, and real monetization at or before retirement.
What This Program Covers
This CLE provides a practical, comparative framework for evaluating the full range of structural and financial options now available to law firms.
Topics include:
• What Rule 5.4 allows, what it prohibits, and where firms get into trouble with MSO relationships
• How Legal MSO deal structures work and which provisions most affect control, economics, and autonomy
• The differences between the various types of MSOs, including how each model impacts governance, risk, and long-term outcomes
• When creating an internal MSO makes sense and when firms underestimate the operational and cultural burden
• What fund backed MSOs can realistically offer and where expectations often diverge from reality
• How alternatives such as mergers, litigation finance, and alternative financing compare to MSOs as paths to growth and monetization
• The common risks, downsides, and decision traps partners encounter when evaluating these options
The program is intentionally balanced. It does not promote a single solution. Instead, it equips partners with the context needed to make informed decisions aligned with their firm’s goals, culture, and long-term financial interests.
Who Should Attend
Managing Partners
Equity Partners
Firm Founders
Partners involved in strategy, succession, or growth decisions
Law Firm C-Levels
This program is not designed for associates or early-career attorneys.
Program Format
Two hours of expert-led discussion followed by a moderated Q&A.
Questions are submitted through the webinar chat and curated for relevance and practicality.
What You Will Leave With
• A clear understanding of the MSO landscape, including standard and fund backed models
• A framework for comparing MSOs to mergers and other alternatives
• Greater clarity around risk, control, and economic tradeoffs
• The ability to ask better questions before signing anything
• A realistic view of when MSOs help and when they hurt