Interesting thought, but I'll check back in about 30 years. That's about how far behind the times these firms are. A lot would have to change, including the American Bar Association completely re-writing its ethical guidelines and allowing non-lawyer involvement in law firms, something that has been hotly rejected in the past even when there was real pressure a couple of decades ago to permit more multidisciplinary practice (more like the big accounting/consulting firms). It's still a crime in all 50 states to practice law without a license, and even part ownership might be a gray area there - they'd have to at least address that. The only real chance this has of happening soon is if law firms based in other countries start killing American law firms by taking many of the large clients, and they are forced to adapt. I am not clear how outside ownership would create that much sleeker of a business model, though, and firms still need to compete within the US market in order to serve those big clients. Even with profits way down (as they are now), U.S. lawyers' main concern will continue to be protecting their monopoly on the profession.