A client hires a lawyer. Not a fund.
Private equity is buying into personal injury law firms, often through a management company clients never see. This is the pledge for injury firms that stay lawyer-owned, say so out loud, and do it the right way.
A truck runs a red light. A father can’t work. The bills come anyway.
So he calls a lawyer. He hands over his records, his story, and the next two years of his life. He is trusting one thing above all. That the person across the desk works for him. Only him.
That trust is the whole profession. It is why lawyers may not share fees with people who aren’t lawyers. It is why the client, and only the client, decides when to settle. The rules exist so that no one else gets a seat at that table.
Today, private equity is buying its way into personal injury firms. The money is real. So is what comes with it: a new set of owners who never meet the client, and who need a return on a schedule.
We will not take that money.
We are not against growth. We are not against investment. We are against handing the client’s case to anyone whose first duty runs somewhere else.
Two bosses. One client.
Private equity is good at what it does. A fund buys a business, grows it fast, and sells it in a few years. That is the model. The fund owes its investors a return, and it is built to exit.
A good injury lawyer is built for something else. Take the hard case. Spend on the expert. Try it when the offer is wrong. Tell a client to wait when waiting is worth more.
Think of a pilot whose airline pays a bonus for on-time arrivals. Most days, safe and on time are the same thing. The day they aren’t is the only day that matters.
The deals are built carefully. The money goes into a management company, not the law firm. The lawyers keep their licenses. The management company runs the marketing, the intake, the staff, the software, and the budget.
On paper, the lawyer still decides. In practice, whoever controls the budget decides what gets built, who gets hired, and which cases get the time. A client never sees that line on a chart. They feel it in the case.
Clients should ask. Firms should disclose.
Here is the catch with the MSO play. A client can’t see it.
After the deal, the name on the door stays the same. So do the lawyers, the billboards, and the phone number. The money sits one company over, in the business that runs the firm. Often nothing in the ads, on the website, or in the fee agreement says so.
So a client can sign up, hand over two years of their life, and never learn that investors have a stake in how their firm makes money.
That is backwards. You should know who you are really hiring.
Five questions to ask before you sign
- Who owns this firm?
- Does an outside company run your marketing, intake, staff, or technology?
- Who owns that company? Does it have investors?
- Is that company paid a share of your fees or revenue?
- If any of that changes during my case, will you tell me in writing?
A firm with nothing to hide answers in a minute. Firms that sign this pledge have answered in public.
What we commit to
Everyone is talking about the deals. These are the things we will and won’t do, said out loud, so our clients know where we stand.
- 01Who we answer to
We work for our clients. No one else.
Their interests set the strategy on every case. Not an investor’s return. Not a fund’s timeline. Not a buyer’s spreadsheet.
- 02Not for sale
We will not take private equity money.
Not directly. Not through a management services company, a holding company, or any other structure built to do the same thing by another name. If the deal puts an investor’s interest beside the client’s, we pass.
- 03Judgment
The lawyer decides.
Which cases we take. How we work them. What we spend on them. When we settle and when we try them. Those calls stay with a lawyer who answers to the client.
- 04The client’s call
No settlement on a quota.
We never push a client to settle to hit a number, a quarter, or an exit. We tell them the truth about what their case is worth, even when the truth means more time.
- 05Trial
We will try the case.
When the offer is wrong, we are ready to go to court. A firm that never tries cases teaches insurers they never have to pay full value. Our clients deserve a lawyer the other side takes seriously.
- 06Our people
Colleagues, not a cost line.
Paralegals, case managers, intake staff, and lawyers are the firm. We build places where good people stay and grow, not teams we thin out before a sale.
- 07Community
We are from here, and we stay.
We live where our clients live. We show up for our towns when there is no case to win. A good name is built over years in one place. It can’t be acquired.
- 08Honest marketing
We earn the call.
We market honestly. We don’t promise outcomes, and we don’t treat injured people as leads to buy in bulk. Every person who calls us is a person first.
- 09Trust
Our clients’ stories are not an asset.
Client files, case data, and the trust behind them are not part of any deal. Not to value the firm, not to sell, not to train anyone’s product.
- 10Ownership
Lawyers own law firms.
When we grow, we grow with our own work and our own money, and with lenders who don’t take a seat at the table. When we step back, we hand the firm to lawyers who will keep these commitments. And when a client asks who owns us, we answer plainly.
What this pledge is not
- It is not against growth. Plenty of great firms grow big, and they should.
- It is not against investing in technology, marketing, or people. Good firms do that every year.
- It is not a verdict on every lawyer who has taken a deal. People make that choice for real reasons, often at the end of a long career.
It is a line we draw for ourselves. Out loud, with our names on it.
Answer to the client. Put your name on it.
Sign the PledgePrivate equity and personal injury firms: common questions
What is a law firm MSO?
A management services organization is a separate company that runs a law firm’s business side: marketing, intake, staff, technology and the budget. Private equity invests in the MSO instead of the law firm, because most states do not let non-lawyers own law firms. The firm pays the MSO for its services.
Can private equity own a personal injury law firm?
In most states, no. Lawyer ethics rules bar non-lawyers from owning law firms or sharing legal fees. Arizona is the main exception, and a few other states are testing new models. That is why most private equity money reaches injury firms through an MSO.
Why is private equity buying into personal injury firms?
Injury firms spend heavily on advertising and intake, and many are owned by a few founders who want a way out. Investors see a marketing business they can scale and combine with others, then sell.
How can I tell if my injury lawyer is backed by private equity?
Often you can’t, from the outside. After an MSO deal, the firm name, the lawyers and the ads usually stay the same. So ask. Who owns the firm? Does an outside company run its marketing, intake or staff? Who owns that company, and is it paid a share of the firm’s fees or revenue? A firm that signed The Independence Pledge has said in public that it takes no private equity money.
Should a law firm tell clients it is backed by private equity?
We think so. The rules on these deals vary by state, and most were written before the deals existed. A client should not have to dig for it. A firm should say it plainly, in writing, before the client signs.
Is the signer information verified?
No. Everything on the signer list is self-reported by each firm. We review each signature before it goes live to screen out spam and obvious mismatches, but we do not audit any firm’s ownership, contracts or finances. The pledge is a public promise, and each firm is responsible for keeping it.
Who can sign The Independence Pledge?
Personal injury law firms owned and controlled by lawyers that take no private equity money, directly or through an MSO, holding company or similar structure.
Who’s signed on
Lawyer-owned personal injury firms that have taken The Independence Pledge. All signer information is self-reported.
Take the pledge
It takes a minute. Once you sign, here’s what you get:
- Your firm listed on this page, with a link to your site
- A “Signed The Independence Pledge” badge for your website and LinkedIn
- A press release template to announce it
- Not in the Best Era Community yet? A 7-day free trial, on us
The Independence Pledge is convened by Best Era, West Hartford, Connecticut. It is a voluntary set of commitments for firms owned and controlled by lawyers. It creates no legal obligation, changes no rule of professional conduct, and is not legal advice. Signer information is self-reported by each firm and is not independently verified by Best Era.
