In the second installment of Mimesis TV, Lee Pacchia interviews Michael McDevitt, the non-attorney CEO and owner of  the Tandem Law Group @tndgrp. McDevitt’s interest in owning and being CEO of a law firm arose from his frustration at being a CEO who was a law firm client. He found that law firms  were not responsive to his business needs. He jumped at the opportunity to become a CEO and partial owner of an innovative law firm Tamdem Law Group. McDevitt sees his role  as helping the organization run effectively but he also participates in business development and meetings with new clients.

There has been a fair amount of  legal press covering the emergence of  alternative business structures  for UK law firms  Here in the US, The DC  Bar Ethics Rule 5.4  also allows non-lawyer ownership of law firms. To date it has mostly been used by lobbyist-law firms.

Pacchia’s interview with McDevitt explores the unqiue  structural goals (stay small) culture (hire the right kind of lawyers and help them thrive) business development strategy ( referals from existing clients) and fee structures ( hourly, success rates and taking equity interest in the client)

Yet accoding to McDevitt, building the law  firm of the future has a lot in common with small law firms of the past… watch the video…