Hey everyone! I’m Laura Gersony (Proof), a reporter for The Arizona Republic. I’ve spent the last few months investigating an Arizona policy experiment that allows Wall Street investors, marketing professionals, and other non-lawyers to own law firms.
The idea behind the so-called “Alternative Business Structures” program was to cut red tape in the legal business and make it cheaper for residents to get a lawyer. But my investigation found that the AZ-licensed firms are now trailed by complaints from consumers, not just in Arizona, but all over the United States.
We’ll be hosting an AMA here on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions about my story, how it was reported and more. In the meantime, here’s a little more about us:
For example:
One Arizona firm settled a lawsuit with a Texas woman who accused the firm of clogging up her cell phone with 16 robo-calls and automated texts, as it tried to solicit her as a client.
Another Arizona licensee is being probed by Mobile County, Alabama prosecutors in relation to a “deceptive scheme” that “commoditized” car accident victims in one of the poorest states in the country. (Shoutout to Scott Johnson, local reporter with The Lagniappe Daily, who broke that story!)
And just this November, a federal judge in San Francisco reprimanded yet another Arizona firm for trying to “trick” class-action claimants out of settlement money they could’ve received, in an attempt to make a “quick buck.”
Arizona officials have given out more than 150 licenses for the program. They’ve rejected only 3.
This Arizona program has allowed private equity investors to take over firms in a way that’s illegal in almost every U.S. state. We’ve seen similar trends in other sectors like health care, dentistry, HVAC, and more, with concerning outcomes for ordinary consumers who depend on those services. Now the Arizona program is giving Wall Street a new inroad into the legal business, too.
You can read my full investigation at www.azcentral.com.
And in the meantime...AMA!
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