Sharing Ownership in Licensed Professional Firms
How firms can extend ownership to all employees—despite legal limits on who can hold equity.
Summary
Firms such as law, medical, architecture, and engineering practices are subject to corporate practice restrictions that pose barriers to sharing ownership opportunities broadly with employees. These laws are intended to safeguard professional independence, ensure accountability, and prevent conflicts of interest. Yet, in doing so, they also limit the ability of firms to adopt broad-based employee ownership. The brief outlines legally compliant pathways to approach employee ownership in these firms, enabling more inclusive equity arrangements that recognize the value of all team members—while adhering to professional practice regulations.
