MDP study group sharply divided.

Like a judge giving a shotgun charge to a jury, Florida Bar President Edith Osman urged a sharply divided Special Committee on Multidisciplinary Practice and Ancillary Businesses to finish its work by forging a compromise position to offer the Board of Governors.

"A majority opinion and minority opinion is a great exercise, and we can put it in the books. But that's not what the charge of this committee is," Osman said. "And if you don't take that charge, you're going to give it to the board, who has not had the benefit of all this time and effort and study that you've put in. And they're going to make the decision some other haphazard way."

Already, "pro" and "con" subcommittees had produced polar positions, spelled out in scholarly reports, debated at a town hall meeting, and each opinion will be voted on by the committee. The big question up for debate is whether The Florida Bar should change fee-sharing rules to allow MDPs, professional associations owned jointly by lawyers and nonlawyers that are revolutionizing the way clients buy legal services, bundled along with accounting, securities and consulting services.

The day before, the panel held an open "town hall" meeting for all Bar members to share their views. The group will publish its reports in the March Bar Journal and invite further input before the Board of Governors makes any recommendations on the issue.

By the end of the three-hour committee meeting filled with animated debate, the committee agreed to work on a third consensus proposal that would allow MDPs, but only if lawyers maintain controlling interest in the partnerships, along with other caveats.

On February 2 in Tallahassee, the committee will meet again to hammer out details and vote on what recommendation to give the Board of Governors.

"I'm not even sure I'd vote for this. You know my position: I'm a 'con,'" Co-chair Richard Gilbert told committee members. "But I think it's important that we try to come together. There's no better group in this state and probably in this country, with the possible exception of the ABA commission. And frankly, if we can't do it, if we can't come to an idea where we all agree with something, then we're left with two opposite extremes, and I think that gives the Board of Governors a dangerous choice."

That choice, Gilbert said, "is going to affect the way we practice law for the next 50 years, and it's the biggest decision the Bar has faced over the last 100 years."

Edgar Dunn, chair...