This concept is worth looking into.  However, I see a few potential problems.  First is the obvious - funding.  Whether you were to buy (or buy in-to) an existing company or start from scratch - it would require a large upfront investment.  It will be difficult to raise the amount of capital required, especially if you do not require the buy in until you have orders to offer the purchaser.

Second, if the sole requirement of assigning work is the ownership of a share in the LLC, how can you control quality?  If you have an unqualified, or an inexperienced abstractor with an ownership interest you would not be able to simply drop them if they are causing problems and potential losses.  There are many people I would not want to go into business with.  Does this raise any liability issues if an "owner" creates a claim?

Third, the LLC will still have the expense and overhead associated with running an office of that size on a national scale.  In order to be competitive, it may be difficult to pay the "owners" what they would want to charge.  You have to address the issue of "who" will set the prices.  Do you think there is enough "profit" in running the LLC to be able to pay the "owners" their desired fees and still be able to compete with the VMCs that are getting their searches for $25?  Remember, operating a company of that size and launching a national marketing campaign is going to be a huge expense.

I think you may also find it next to impossible to find an existing company that is willing to sell an ownership interest to the abstractors, whose first order of business will be to raise the price of the search fee.  You are seeking to limit their choice of abstractors, demand a higher search fee, and still expect the LLC to be able to solicit more business.  Especially since all of the owners will still be completing the same work for other "competitors" at a discounted rate.

It would be nice, but its going to be like swimming upstream.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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