Jieyi’s strong personal style
In the U.S., an “alternative business structure” is a legal entity that has nonlawyer owners or managers. This departure from traditional law firm ownership rules has created demand for such structures because of the access-to-justice problem — the fact that vast majority of Americans lack access to affordable legal help. The legal profession has lagged behind other industries in operational change, but there are signs that this may be changing.
In Arizona and Utah, over 100 ABS entities have launched in the past five years, roughly marking the five-year mark of the U.S. experiment with alternative business structures. In Arizona, the ABS program was created to allow entrepreneurial lawyers and nonlawyers to pilot different business forms as a way to improve access to justice. There are five types of ABS entities:
Traditional law firms changing their ownership/investment structure
Law companies with nonlawyer ownership practicing law
Non-law companies expanding into law
Intermediary platforms connecting consumers with lawyers
Entities using nonlawyers and technology to practice law
Support for ABS adoption exists among professionals, although debate continues:
51.5% would support an ABS proposal
39.5% would oppose
This shows a slim majority, but also a substantial minority opposed.
Evaluating alternatives in a business case
The rationale for evaluating multiple alternative solutions systematically rather than defaulting to the first idea is a business case. Raymond Sheen’s HBR Guide to Building Your Business Case provides a good overview of the topic. Stakeholders expect evidence that you’ve thought through your options thoroughly, not just accepted the obvious answer. Even if the front-runner idea comes from the CEO or is the industry norm, you should still do a multi-option analysis. A second or third option might be faster, cheaper, or less risky. You need to demonstrate critical thinking discipline, not just check off boxes.
When evaluating alternatives, you should always include the do-nothing option as a required element. The do-nothing option means explicitly modeling the consequences of taking no action at all. When you model it rigorously, you must make concrete projections, not vague warnings about what could happen. For example, here’s how I would model the consequences of doing nothing:
System downtime increases from 4 to 12 hours monthly within 18 months
Costs $75,000/month in lost productivity and emergency repairs
Each alternative presented must have at least one significant advantage.
Alternative business solutions in consulting
In addition to these elements, we can add commercial consulting meaning to the term “alternative business solutions”. Alternative Business Solutions is the name of a business coaching and consulting firm, which provides business strategy, planning, and development solutions. It is an alternative to having in-house business functions.