Edward Kangas, chairman of accountancy, tax and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche, pulled no punches when he announced his firm's plans to build a global legal practice within two years.

"Law firms are terribly managed – they are very inefficient," he told the Financial Times.

Deloitte's spokesman in the UK, where the firm has the highest number of law firms as audit clients, is quick to assure The Diary that Mr Kangas was referring to US firms, rather than the no doubt excellently managed law firms in the UK.