Accountancy giant PwC have signalled their continued intent to bolster their legal services ranks with their first US Law office. Unable to register under their own name due to regulatory issues, the company are launching a new law firm, ILC Legal, and plan to open this month in Washington D.C. in a move to expand upon the company’s already substantial legal arm.
PwC have been slowly increasing the size of its legal operations with expansion in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia, bringing the total number of PwC Legal’s offices worldwide to 85 and the number of employees to 2,500. These numbers rank them alongside industry stalwarts Clifford Chance and Jones Day.
The new ILC Legal office will be headed by the current PwC Legal Head of International Business Reorganisation Practice, Richard Edmundson, formerly of Clifford Chance who will be leaving his London office to take up the post. Talking to Law.com, Edmundson said: “This is market driven. Our clients are increasingly looking for advisers that can provide international coverage on transactions from planning to execution”.
Although Washington allows lawyers to register as foreign legal consultants, current legislation prevents the new firm from offering US law advice, which is why the company’s focus will be on assisting US clients on international issues. Edmundson stated that the new company doesn’t “see itself as a traditional law firm” who view legal services as one offering amongst many. While this offers some comfort to top American law firms, they will still be wary as PwC continues a trend among the big four accountancy firms worldwide in expanding their legal services. Deloitte, EY, and KPMG have all joined PwC with vast investment in their legal services, albeit mainly in European and Asia-Pacific markets.
PwC’s move marks the accountancy firm’s first concerted effort to move into the US market. Despite the initial company plans revealing a low employee number of between 6-8 lawyers, it is widely expected to increase significantly.
Given the move, industry figures have suggested they would not be surprised to see other members of the big four accountancy firms follow suit, which is what will be causing concern amongst major US law practices. What is clear is that the American legal industry will be watching ILC Legal closely.
