Private equity firm Uplift Investors is expanding its footprint in the US legal-services sector through a new management services agreement with Arkansas-based personal injury firm Rainwater, Holt & Sexton.
The Darien, Connecticut-based investment firm said the arrangement marks its sixth transaction involving the back-office operations of a law firm through a management services organization (MSO).
Under the deal, Uplift’s Orion Legal MSO will handle a range of non-legal functions for Rainwater, Holt & Sexton, including administration, finance, marketing and technology. The Arkansas firm’s attorneys will retain ownership of the law practice itself.
Two of the firm’s name partners, Mike Rainwater and Bob Sexton, are also set to join Orion Legal’s national advisory board.
Rainwater said the partnership is intended to support the firm’s continued expansion while maintaining its existing approach to serving clients and its workforce.
Orion Legal was launched by Uplift in January and has been building a network of relationships with personal injury firms across several US states. Its existing operations extend to firms in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.
The arrangement reflects a growing interest in the MSO structure as a way to bring outside capital and business expertise into law firms while maintaining the ownership restrictions that apply to legal practices.
In the United States, non-lawyers generally cannot directly own interests in law firms or receive a portion of attorneys’ fees in jurisdictions that follow traditional professional-ownership rules.
An MSO structure separates the legal practice from its non-legal business functions. Outside investors can hold an interest in the services company, while the law firm remains owned by attorneys. The firm then pays the MSO for the administrative and operational services it provides.
For private equity investors, the model creates a route into the business infrastructure surrounding legal practices without taking direct ownership of the underlying law firm.
