LEXPERT MAGAZINE
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SEPTEMBER 2017 47
legal-services arms around the
globe. Statistics compiled by the
Harvard Law School Center on
the Legal Profession show that,
by 2012, PwC had quietly ac-
cumulated legal practices in 70
countries, Deloitte in 49, KPMG
in 39 and EY in 23. ree years
later, those numbers had grown
to 85, 69, 53 and 69 countries
respectively, in the process ex-
panding the accounting firms'
legal services reach beyond their
stronghold in Europe to include
markets like Asia, Latin America
and Africa. In the UK, PwC,
KPMG, EY and 110 other ac-
counting firms have obtained
alternative business structure
(ABS) licences, which allow them
to offer a limited but growing
spectrum of legal services.
e factors enabling this mar-
ket expansion include changes to
legal regulatory frameworks, as
the introduction of ABS entities
demonstrates, and the globaliza-
tion of the legal market. e Big
Four have also taken full advan-
tage of gaps in the governance
of auditor independence and of
their long track record of pro-
viding multidisciplinary services across
borders. More particularly, the Big Four's
strategy has been to jump into the opening
le by the top law firms, which have been
focusing on premium work for premium
clients, and end-running the traditional
market by offering a full range of services,
particularly to multinational clients.
| ACCOUNTING FIRMS IN LAW |
ere's considerable support for this
view. Centrica's Berard says his company
would be reluctant to give "very specific
legal mandates" to the Big Four. "Seeking
guidance from them around themes and
topics is a great idea, as is bringing them in
for setting up policy procedures," he says.
"But I probably wouldn't use them for a
fact-specific scenario, like giving legal ad-
vice on transactional work or litigation."
According to Malcolm Mercer, a partner
Jordan Furlong, a prominent legal con-
sultant, strategist and futurist, has opined
in these pages that what the Big Four are
really aiming for is the mid-market. His
view is that rather than seeking the "bet
the company" mandates, they're looking to
the far more numerous "run the company"
retainers and getting them in practice areas
like mid-level corporate commercial, la-
bour and employment, regulatory compli-
ance, immigration and tax law.
"The Big Four are much more
agile and creative than law
firms. Even as law firms are
having trouble moving away
from the billable hour, the Big
Four are being proactive and
they're expanding what they
do because they want to be
in a company's boardroom
every six months."
PAOLO BERARD
>
CENTRICA
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
