Private equity: Cash and Tom, Dick or Harry

The private equity and investment gangs better look at the small print of the Legal Services Act if they're thinking of partnering with law firms.

When the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) last week put out a consultation on who should be allowed to own and run firms, it fleetingly made an interesting point.

It said it will not be approving non-lawyers as partners if they are merely looking to invest. Anyone who wants to become a partner will have to get involved in the delivery of legal services.

The regulators have said partners will not need professional qualifications, although SRA adviser Alison Crawley suggests a marketeer or an accountant would be good to take up a post.

So any financiers out there looking for partnership better start training up in another profession.