For
years,
the
Swiss
verein
has
been
Biglaw’s
favorite
legal
fiction,
a
way
for
global
firms
to
say
they’re
one
happy
family
while
keeping
the
finances
carefully
separated.
Now
one
of
the
biggest
names
in
the
game
is
preparing
to
change
that.
As
noted
by
the
American
Lawyer,
DLA
Piper
—
a
firm
that
brought
in
$4,239,832,000
gross
revenue
in
2024,
putting
it
at
No.
3
on
the
Am
Law
100
—
is
planning
to
abandon
the
verein
structure
that
has
long
governed
its
international
operations
and
move
to
a
single
global
profit
pool,
bringing
the
firm’s
U.S.
and
non-U.S.
partnerships
together
financially
for
the
first
time
ever.
The
shift
would
mark
a
significant
structural
change
for
one
of
the
world’s
largest
law
firms
and
could
signal
broader
changes
in
how
global
firms
organize
themselves.
If
you’re
wondering
what
the
big
deal
is,
here’s
the
short
version:
under
a
Swiss
verein,
firms
operate
under
one
brand
but
keep
their
finances
separate.
Offices
or
regions
can
technically
“merge”
while
maintaining
independent
profit
pools,
liabilities,
and
partnerships
—
a
structure
that
made
it
much
easier
for
firms
to
grow
rapidly
across
borders
without
forcing
partners
to
share
profits
with
less
profitable
regions.
A
unified
profit
pool
changes
that
equation.
It
aligns
incentives,
encourages
cross-border
collaboration,
and,
at
least
in
theory,
pushes
the
firm
closer
to
operating
as
a
genuinely
integrated
global
partnership
rather
than
a
loose
federation
of
offices.
It’s
not
just
the
firm’s
finances
that
are
coming
together
as
one.
Am
Law
has
additional
details:
Ryan
and
Severs
will
jointly
outline
plans
for
the
new
structure
of
the
firm
to
partners
later
today,
according
to
a
source
with
knowledge
of
the
matter.The
source
added
that
the
changes
will
include
the
implementation
of
a
new
global
governance
structure
with
a
unified
global
leadership
team.The
current
CEOs
will
retain
their
leadership
roles
with
[Frank]
Ryan
serving
as
global
chair
and
co-CEO,
and
[Charles]
Severs
as
global
co-CEO.
For
DLA
Piper,
this
shift
suggests
leadership
believes
the
benefits
of
deeper
integration
now
outweigh
the
risks.
In
other
words,
one
of
the
world’s
largest
law
firms
is
betting
that
Biglaw’s
future
looks
less
like
a
network
and
more
like
a
true
global
partnership.
If
the
experiment
works,
don’t
be
surprised
if
other
verein-structured
giants
start
asking
themselves
the
same
question:
why
pretend
to
be
one
firm
when
you
could
actually
become
one?
DLA
To
Move
Away
From
Verein
Structure
and
Operate
One
Profit
Pool
[American
Lawyer]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
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