Episode 4.1: Alternative Business Structures: Updates from Arizona’s Legal Frontier with Lynda Shely
In this episode of The Heart of Law Podcast, host Mirena Umizaj Dumas welcomes back returning guest Lynda Shely, one of the nation’s leading voices on legal ethics and innovation. A former Chair of the ABA’s Ethics Committee and a current member of Arizona’s Alternative Business Structures (ABS) and AI Steering Committees, Lynda offers rare insight from the front lines of Arizona’s trailblazing regulatory reform.
Back by popular demand, Lynda returns to share the latest developments in Arizona’s ABS model—a topic that continues to spark conversation across the legal industry. She and Mirena revisit Arizona’s groundbreaking elimination of Rule 5.4, which paved the way for non-lawyer ownership of law firms. Together, they explore how the ABS framework has evolved, its current status, and what it signals for the future of legal services nationwide.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
What ABS actually is and why Arizona replaced the ban on non-lawyer ownership
Why lawyers and non-lawyers pursue ABS (succession, capital, tech)
Lessons from 144+ licensed firms and Arizona’s strict oversight
Ethics guardrails and mandatory compliance protocols
How Arizona prohibits referral mills under ABS
Risks and opportunities of private equity in law
How Arizona compares to other states like California and Utah
Where AI fits in—and what Arizona doesn’t allow
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro & Guest Welcome
02:30 – What Is ABS?
08:10 – Concerns & Safeguards
15:40 – Mass Torts, PE & Compliance
25:45 – Renewals & Firm Growth
34:35 – ABS: What’s Next?
48:30 – Final Thoughts
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Lynda C. Shely is an Ethics and ABS attorney with Rosing, Pott & Strohbehn, in partnership with Zelms Erlich Lenkov. Based in Arizona, Lynda provides legal ethics and Alternative Business Structure (ABS) regulatory advice to lawyers and law firms nationwide.
She is the former Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (2020–2023) and currently serves on multiple legal ethics bodies, including the Arizona Supreme Court’s ABS Committee and AI Steering Committee. A respected voice in the profession, Lynda has also taught professional responsibility as an adjunct professor at every law school in Arizona.
Her contributions to the legal field have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2022 Maricopa County Bar Member of the Year, 2023 Hall of Fame Inductee, and the 2024 AWLA Sarah Herring Sorin Award.
