Bloomberg Law cites Edwards Gibson commentary on DLA Piper’s move away from the verein model

Edwards Gibson is pleased to share that Director Scott Gibson has been quoted in Bloomberg Law's article,“DLA Tackles Partner Credit for Sharing Work as It Sheds Verein” by Meghan Tribe and Roy Strom, which examines DLA Piper’s decision to abandon its Swiss verein structure and the broader implications for partner compensation, profitability and lateral recruitment.

The article explores how the verein model enabled rapid international expansion for several global law firms, while also creating challenges around profit-sharing and cross-border referral incentives. Commenting on the structure, Scott Gibson notes:

“Vereins are a bit of a cheat. They were a mechanism by which law firms could grow quite quickly—internationally particularly.”

The piece also highlights broader changes across the legal market as firms seek to improve profitability and strengthen their position in the competition for top lateral talent. The article also cites Scott Gibson’s view that DLA Piper had already been taking steps to improve partner profitability, including reducing equity partner numbers in certain markets.

Read the full Bloomberg article here