Charlesbank Equity Partners is in advanced discussions to acquire a stake in law firm WSHB, a transaction valued at roughly $700 million that would rank among the largest private equity investments in the American legal industry to date.
The deal is structured around a "management services organization" model, which permits non-lawyer entities to hold interests in US law firms while navigating state professional conduct rules that generally bar non-attorney ownership of legal practices. Charlesbank previously applied a similar framework two years ago when it acquired accounting firm Aprio.
WSHB, headquartered in Los Angeles, employs more than 550 attorneys and focuses on defending corporations against product liability, personal injury, and other claims. The firm operates 43 offices across the United States and maintains a presence in the London insurance market.
The firm has communicated to prospective buyers that substantial capital inflows from private equity and litigation financiers have driven a surge in personal injury and liability cases, leaving WSHB unable to take on additional defense work without fresh funding. Reports indicate the firm is seeking financial backing to recruit teams from peer firms and expand internationally, including into Central and South American markets.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Charlesbank intends to purchase shares in a newly created entity that would house WSHB's back-office and other non-legal operations—the management services organization. This structure splits the firm into two components: a lawyer-owned legal advisory entity and the management services organization, which holds the remaining assets and provides services to the legal practice in exchange for fees.
The purchase price is based on a multiple of WSHB's projected 2026 earnings of $46 million, yielding an enterprise value of approximately $700 million. An agreement is expected to be signed within the coming weeks.
Interest in the management services organization model has grown steadily among US legal professionals and investors over the past year. Prominent firms including Quinn Emanuel, McDermott Will & Emery, and Paul, Weiss have all explored related structures with private equity groups or banks. The framework has been increasingly adopted for personal injury firm acquisitions and for launching AI-powered legal technology startups.
However, the model has yet to undergo extensive legal testing under US ethics rules, prompting caution among some firm owners and investors. Proponents counter that a properly designed structure ensures private equity partners have no role in case decisions while freeing lawyers from administrative duties to focus on client work.
Comparable structures have previously been used by private equity to acquire medical and dental practices, and have expanded into the accounting sector in recent years. Aprio, following its 2024 investment from Charlesbank, used the capital to acquire other accounting firms and entered the legal services market by leveraging Arizona's policy permitting non-lawyer ownership of law firms.