The Integration of Law into Global Business Solutions: The Rise, Transformation, and Potential Future of the Big Four Accountancy Networks in the Global Legal Services Market

46 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2017

See all articles by David B. Wilkins

David B. Wilkins

Harvard University - Center on the Legal Profession

María J. Esteban Ferrer

IE Law School

Date Written: August 3, 2017

Abstract

Using a unique data set comprised of original research of both the corporate Web sites of the Big Four — PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY — and their affiliated law firms, as well as archival material from the legal and accountancy press, this article documents the rise and transformation of the Big Four legal service lines since the enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Moreover, it demonstrates that there are good reasons to believe that these sophisticated players will be even more successful in penetrating the corporate legal services market in the decades to come, as that market increasingly matures in a direction that favors the integration of law into a wider category of business solutions that these globally integrated multidisciplinary practices now champion. We conclude with some preliminary observations about the implications of the reemergence of the Big Four legal networks for the legal profession.

Suggested Citation

Wilkins, David B. and Esteban Ferrer, María José, The Integration of Law into Global Business Solutions: The Rise, Transformation, and Potential Future of the Big Four Accountancy Networks in the Global Legal Services Market (August 3, 2017). Law and Social Inquiry, 2017, HLS Center on the Legal Profession Research Paper No. 2017-2, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3013154 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3013154

David B. Wilkins (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Center on the Legal Profession ( email )

1585 Massachusetts Avenue
Wasserstein Hall, Suite 5018
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

María José Esteban Ferrer

IE Law School ( email )

Madrid
Spain

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.ie.edu

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