Alternative business structures spread to Singapore

Alternative business structures, adopted with great brouhaha in the U.K. some two years ago, are coming to Singapore.

Legalweek.com reports that Singapore will update its laws to 'accommodate firms wishing to adopt alternative business structures, with changes likely to come into force next year.' Non-lawyer employee ownership, however, will be capped at 25%.

ABS, which also exist in Australia, allow non-lawyers and entities that are not law firms to become managers or have ownership interests in law firms. Many observers say they portend a revolutionary change in the legal market, including allowing law firms to go public. The activity in the U.K. since their introduction, however, has succeeded in breaking down the entry barriers to the legal services market as non-legal entities secure interests in law firms.

While no law firm in the U.K. has of yet sought equity in the public markets, Australia's Slater & Gordon became the first publicly-traded law firm in the world in 2007. Indeed, it used some of the capital to acquire a number of U.K. law firms and has since grown to 1,600 lawyers globally.