KPMG's Legal Arm Announces 'Record' Growth in 2018
Following the growth, KPMG has made big moves in Hong Kong, the U.K. and France to kick off 2019.
February 06, 2019 at 04:02 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
KPMG's global legal services business last year boosted its revenue by more than 30 percent, making it a record year for growth in the business, the Big Four firm said Wednesday.
Events in 2019 show KPMG's legal services business is investing in further growth now. It opened a Hong Kong office last month, announced plans this week for a legal consulting business in the U.K. and, according to reports, hired roughly 130 lawyers in France from one of the country's largest law firms.
The mass hire from French law firm Fidal included lawyers handling tax, transfer pricing and international mobility specialists, The Global Legal Post reported. A French news report said Fidal has 1,450 lawyers and lawyers and 90 offices in France.
KPMG has not released total revenue figures for its legal arm. A representative for KPMG was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
KPMG now has more than 2,300 legal professionals in 76 countries. LegalWeek, Law.com's U.K. affiliate, reported in November that the firm has set a goal of more than 3,000 lawyers within the next few years.
The U.K. consulting offering KPMG announced this week, branded KPMG Legal Operations and Transformation Services, will provide technology, flexible resources and managed services support for legal departments. That business line will compete with the likes of Elevate Services and UnitedLex.
“As our 2018 results demonstrate, this integrated approach to addressing legal challenges is in high demand,” Jürg Birri, KPMG's global head of legal services, said in a statement. “We expect continued growth in 2019 as we eagerly meet the evolving needs of clients across the globe, including high-growth markets like China.”
While KPMG has not disclosed its revenue for its legal arm, a recent report from Thomson Reuters estimated the revenue of the Big Four's cumulative legal services businesses at $1.2 billion in 2017. That number was up from $900 million in 2015. The American Lawyer reported in November that many Big Law firm leaders expect the Big Four to continue to push higher up the value chain in legal services offerings, even if their ambitions in the U.S. are somewhat restricted by bar rules against non-lawyer ownership of law firms.
“Our approach is different. We're not a traditional law firm, and we're not copying the approach of a traditional law firm,” KPMG's Birri said in a statement. “We focus on offering our clients integrated legal advice and technology led solutions and methodologies, in combination with a range of alternative legal managed services, where we work collectively with our clients who are looking for local and multijurisdictional counsel.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
These Law Firm Leaders Are Optimistic About 2025, Citing Deal Pipeline, International Business
6 minute read
Data Breaches, Increased Regulatory Risk and Florida’s New Digital Bill of Rights
7 minute read
Navigating Florida's Products Liability Law: Defective Products, Warnings and the Pursuit of Justice
6 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
