Big Four
Building a new kind of legal business
Footnote In November, PwC announced it would spin off its fintech arm eBam as LikeZero. With changes to auditor independent rules, the firm felt it could grow the business more effectively outside of PwC. Could this set a trend among the Big Four to reshape their advisory businesses ahead of regulatory changes? The firm remarked: “In the current environment, PwC [is]... not really the right home to turn LikeZero into a proper global business.” It doesn’t take too much imagination to see how one or more of the Big Four could use a similar statement if they decide to do likewise for some or all of their legal delivery services businesses.
No review of the year is complete without referencing the Big Four. All strengthened their positioning for providing legal expertise and helping to deliver it through new people, services, collaborations and acquisitions. Deloitte’s acquisition of technology-based law firm Kemp Little is the latest expansion by Big Four accountants into legal services. This follows the development of Deloitte Legal’s partnership with PhD entrepreneurship programme Conception X, giving it access to cutting-edge legal research and innovation. PwC continued its expansion and entered the UK legal tech market through a new collaboration with technology firm Thought River. Meanwhile, KPMG launched Global Legal Ops Transformation Services practice team to handle large-scale business in what it claims is ‘more efficient and technologically enabled way’. All this follows EY’s two high-profile acquisitions of Riverview Law and Pangea3, both now absorbed into its managed services business and coming under the EY Law brand. There is clearly a trend for the world’s largest four auditing and advisory firms to continue and increase their advance into the field of legal services. A survey found that 69% of law firms see Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY as major threats to their market share. It’s easy to understand why, of course. Each can leverage an immense range and breadth of expertise to position itself firmly in the ‘business of law’: straplines include ‘experience the future of law, today’ (Deloitte Legal), ‘legal means business’ (PwC New Law Services), ‘reimagining law’ (KPMG Legal) and ‘building a better working world’ (EY Law). There is no doubt that the Big Four have the brand power to leverage this approach. All four occupied top five places in Acritas’ Global Alternative Legal Brand Index 2019.
Experience the future of law, today
Legal means business
Reimagining law
Building a better working world
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