On Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a revised and amended version of the Regulatory Objectives Resolution.  The original proposal is here.  The language that was added stated:

FURTHER RESOLVED, that nothing contained in this Resolution abrogates in any manner existing ABA policy prohibiting non lawyer ownership of law firms or the core values adopted by the House of Delegates in Resolution 10F, adopted on July 11, 2000.

In my view, the resolution always was about encouraging jurisdictions to think about “why” they regulate and what they are trying to accomplish, not “what is regulated.”  The Resolution “urges that each state’s highest court, and those of each territory and tribe, be guided by the ABA Model Regulatory Objectives for the Provision of Legal Services when they assess [regulatory issues].”  I hope that each U.S. jurisdiction will now decide to adopt its own regulatory objectives (and will think about whether it wants to use the ABA’s model objectives verbatim or adapt a variation such as those recommended here, those set forth in this appendix, or those adopted in 2014 in Nova Scotia.)