Last year, Akin Gump joined the growing number of law firms asking their partners to chip in more capital — an increasingly popular strategy among firms to boost cash reserves without borrowing from banks.
The practice has become more common since the recession, which forced law firms to find new ways to grow amid flat demand for legal services and pressure to offer discounted fees. Access to cash allows firms to invest in new hires, technology upgrades and other capital-intensive efforts to grow the firm’s business.
Now, Jonathan Molot, a Georgetown law professor and co-founder of one of the fastest-growing litigation financing firms in the country, Burford Capital, is pushing for a radical change to the capital structure of law firms: a law firm IPO.
