Today, history was made by the ABA House of Delegates. In an age where other professionals are being bought and sold like commodities, the ABA's House of Delegates reaffirmed a decades old ABA policy that non-lawyer ownership of law firms, and fee splitting with non-lawyers is anathema to the legal profession and in direct conflict with the core values that have sustained our profession for generations. In the legal profession, protection of the public, particularly against predatory pecuniary policies is paramount, and will continue to be the primary focus of our profession.

The ISBA is proud to have been the initial sponsor of Resolution 402, the ABA House of Delegates' reaffirmation of this long-standing policy of protecting the public from profiteers. Today's victory did not come without a fight, but in the end the Illinois Delegation, led by ISBA past president John Thies and Board of Governors member Emily Masalski, put together a coalition of co-sponsors featuring the state bars of New Jersey, New York, the ABA's own TIPS and GPSolo committees and supported by the Chicago Bar Association, California Lawyer's Association, and the Iowa Bar Association that resulted in the 350 plus members of the House of Delegates adopting Resolution 402 unanimously. Governor Masalski's considerable efforts breaking down and analyzing opposition points and providing cogent and effective counter points were of particular and notable assistance in our efforts.

This great day would not ever have occurred without the exemplary vision, passion, and just plain hard work of ISBA past president John Thies. For the better part of the last eight months, John organized and coordinated the efforts to stop seemingly endless schemes to terminate the ban against non-lawyer ownership of law firms set forth in RPC 5.4, and grew the support and coalition of bar leaders who ultimately secured today's victory against those who would commoditize our profession at the public's expense. The importance of John's leadership cannot possibly be overstated; without him, this day would not have come about, and this historic vote would never have happened. That John was able to ultimately secure the support and cooperation of those attempting to eliminate RPC 5.4, or significantly roll back its prohibitions, is truly a testament to John's leadership. It has been said that a great leader takes people to where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. John Thies is that great leader. 

We're not finished. Access to justice issues still need to be addressed, and efforts to replace lawyers with AI, software, and other forms of enabling non-lawyers to provide legal services still exist, and will continue to be proposed. Today, however, ISBA is grateful that the ABA House of Delegates has lined up with our Association's core values. As we pursue innovation and expansion of the delivery of legal services to the indigent and the needy, we are grateful that our efforts will involve innovations that have lawyers providing those legal services to the public and our system of justice.

Rory T. Weiler
President, Illinois State Bar Association