Via Mary Whisner – Sam Skolnik, D.C. Nonlawyer Partner Rule Spurs Interest as States Mull Change, Bloomberg Law News: “Some law firms in the nation’s capital have incorporated non-legal experts as co-owners, capitalizing on a unique District of Columbia Bar rule modification that could be instructive as changes to the same rule are considered elsewhere. “To give the best legal advice, we needed the best PR mind,” said Davis Goldberg & Galper partner Adam Goldberg. “Her value here is equal” to the other partners. The D.C. Bar rule change, implemented decades ago, allows the firm to leverage the skill set McManus brings to the boutique, which lies “at the intersection of business, law, policy and politics, and the media,” according to the firm’s website. Ethics lawyers say they’ve seen more inquiries over the past several years about the rule that makes D.C. the only U.S. jurisdiction allowing nonlawyers as firm partners. This is partly due to firms looking to differentiate themselves where they can in the intensely competitive and slow-to-change U.S. legal market. Also, rising tech-driven alternative service providers offering a different business model for certain legal work have long been interested in relaxed partnership and ownership rules. Big Four accounting giants PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY, which are making legal division gains globally, fall into this category…”