What is #SaveLawᴵᴾ

#SaveLawᴵᴾ is a movement to protect the legal profession from the same wave of disruption that has already reshaped many other industries like healthcare, media, and banking – industries now driven by profit over clients. Many other industries and professions are now owned and controlled by outsiders. Law is the last good profession still holding the line, safeguarded (for now) by a single law (Rule 5.4) that delays full-scale disruption. Lawyers should always own and control the legal industry to uphold the highest ethical standards – and #SaveLawᴵᴾ exists to help them do exactly that.

At the center of all this is ABA Rule 5.4—and it’s probably the most important rule in the entire legal profession that most lawyers don’t think about day to day.

It’s the one thing that keeps non-lawyers from owning law firms. That means investors, tech companies, private equity—they can’t step in, take control, and start calling the shots.

Why does that matter? Because Rule 5.4 is what protects lawyers’ independence. It keeps financial interests from interfering with legal judgment. It’s what ensures that when a lawyer gives advice, they’re doing it in the client’s best interest—not because some board of directors is demanding better margins.

But now that’s starting to change.

A few states – Arizona, Utah, and California—have started experimenting with ways around Rule 5.4. Arizona already eliminated it entirely. They’ve opened the doors to what’s called “alternative business structures,” or ABSs. That basically means non-lawyers can own and operate law firms.

And yeah, on the surface, that might sound like innovation—make legal services cheaper, more scalable, more accessible. But let’s be honest—we’ve seen this movie before.

Look at what happened in healthcare. Once hospitals were run like investment vehicles, patient care went downhill. Doctors got overbooked, staff got cut, and everything became about the bottom line.

In media, hedge funds bought up newspapers, gutted the newsrooms, and prioritized outrage clicks over real journalism.

In banking, small relationship-driven banks got swallowed up, and customer service became outsourced call centers and automated systems.

The pattern is always the same. Once corporations take over, clients stop being people and start being numbers. It’s not about doing the right thing anymore—it’s about profitability. And the professionals inside the system lose their ability to act independently, because someone else is pulling the strings.

That’s exactly what’s coming for law—unless we stop it.

Law is different. Or at least, it should be. This profession exists to protect people, not maximize shareholder value. The attorney-client relationship is built on trust, confidentiality, and judgment. That’s not something you can automate, outsource, or scale infinitely without consequences.

That’s what #SaveLawᴵᴾ is all about. It’s not anti-tech, and it’s not about resisting change. It’s about making sure lawyers stay in control of the legal profession – because once it’s gone, we can’t get it back.

If you believe lawyers – not big tech or private equity – should own and control the legal profession, this webinar is for you.

Join us live this Wednesday at 2PM ET to see what’s coming—and what your firm can do now to stay ahead.

💬 Register here for the #SaveLaw Emergency Webinar: https://www.apricotlaw.com/savelaw-webinar-reg