The leader of the first U.S. law firm operated by a Big Four accounting firm says that KPMG isn’t looking to displace clients’ existing relationships with their legal service providers. But firm leaders and market observers are taking its entrance seriously.
When Big Four accounting firm KPMG decided to seek a license to run a law firm under Arizona’s alternative business structure program, firm principals say the decision came in response to client demand for a more comprehensive set of professional services under one umbrella.
The ABS program, which permits nonlawyer ownership of law firms, would enable KPMG to better service existing and potential clients, and operating a law firm subsidiary would also serve as a way for the firm to showcase and put to use what leaders say was a multibillion-dollar investment in technology it has been building out for years.
