田纳西州最高法院维持禁令：非律师不得拥有律所
据 ABA Journal 10月21日报道，田纳西州最高法院在一份日期为10月2日的意见中决定，维持该州长期以来的职业伦理规则：禁止非律师拥有律师事务所，也禁止律师与非律师分成律师费，私募股权等外部投资者继续被挡在律所所有权之外。
法院在意见中写道：目前，法院尚未发现足够的必要性或支持，来推动与律师事务所非律师所有权或与非律师分成费用相关的改革；未来如有更多改革成效数据，不排除重新审议。此前，法院曾以该州法律服务供给不足为由，就放宽限制征求公众意见，共收到近400条评论。包括 Cocke County、Grainger County、Jefferson County 与 Sevier County 在内的多个县律师协会主席联名反对，认为向私募股权敞开大门并非适当方案，弥合司法缺口应靠加大对法律援助的支持、激励律师到乡村地区执业。目前全美仅亚利桑那州与犹他州在全州范围内改写或放宽了非律师所有权规则。
Tennessee Supreme Court Maintains Ban on Nonlawyer Ownership of Law Firms
The Tennessee Supreme Court, in an opinion dated October 2, has decided to maintain the state's long-standing ethics rules banning nonlawyer ownership of law firms and the splitting of legal fees with nonlawyers, keeping outside investors, including private equity, shut out of law firm ownership, ABA Journal reported on October 21.
At this time, the court has not identified sufficient need or support for reforms related to nonlawyer ownership of law firms or fee sharing with nonlawyers, the court stated in its opinion, adding that it may revisit the topic in the future as additional data regarding the success of these reforms becomes available. The court had invited public comment on relaxing the rules, citing concern that the state lacked enough legal services, and received nearly 400 comments. The presidents of several county bar associations, including those of Cocke County, Grainger County, Jefferson County and Sevier County, wrote in opposition that opening the door to private equity is not the appropriate solution and that the justice gap should instead be addressed through increased support for legal aid organizations and incentives for attorneys to practice in underserved rural communities. So far, only Arizona and Utah have rewritten or relaxed their nonlawyer ownership rules statewide.
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图片来源：图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，作者 Antony-22，CC BY-SA 4.0，田纳西州最高法院大楼
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