Howard Rosenberg Interviews Trisha Rich of Holland & Knight and Lucian Pera of Adams & Reese

In this episode of The Future Is Bright podcast, Howard Rosenberg, head of Talent Intelligence + Acquisitions at Baretz+Brunelle, and his co-host Chris Batz welcome Trisha Rich, partner at Holland & Knight, and Lucian Pera, partner at Adams & Reese. Trisha and Lucian are two of the most active lawyers working at the intersection of law firm capital, MSO structures, and ethics compliance. Both of their practices have grown sharply over the past year, as investor interest in the legal market has accelerated well past anything they saw in 2025.

The conversation picks up six months after Trisha and Lucian’s last appearance on the show. Trisha’s team closed six deals in 2025. By the first week of June 2026, they had already closed 15. The discussion covers what is driving that volume, where the regulatory resistance is coming from, what separates deals that hold together from ones that do not, and how both lawyers are sizing up AI’s growing footprint in the legal market.

Episode Highlights

• The Numbers Behind the Surge
  Trisha puts a specific figure on just how fast the pace has shifted: six deals in all of 2025, then 15 by the first week of June 2026. She breaks down what kinds of transactions are making up that volume and which corners of the market are suddenly showing up at the table.

• Who Is Really Driving the Pushback
  The opposition to ABS and MSO structures is not coming from the regulators most people assume. Lucian identifies the specific group behind the legislative pressure and explains what they are actually trying to protect.

• What Alignment Looks Like When It Is Missing
  Both lawyers return to the same word when asked what makes these deals succeed. Trisha is working on a deal right now where she can already tell it is not there, and she describes exactly what that looks like before a single document has been signed.

• Big Law and the First-Mover Question
  A managing partner from an Am Law 50 firm recently laid out a specific theory about what happens when the largest firms enter this market in a serious way. Lucian recounts it and says he has heard it more than once.

• Where AI Fits Into the Capital Conversation
  Native AI law firms are moving faster than most traditional firms are adapting internally. Lucian questions a premise that has become almost conventional wisdom in this space, and Trisha points to a specific client to show how far along the AI-native model already is.

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About the Podcast:
On The Future Is Bright, Howard Rosenberg and Chris Batz engage with thought-provoking C-suite executives and leaders from corporations, professional service firms, and the global legal industry. Each episode uncovers insights on leadership, innovation, and the evolving dynamics of the modern professional landscape.

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