KPMG's offices in Washington, D.C.

Two years ago, the Asian legal market didn't pay much attention to the Big Four accounting firms. Two of them were already here. PwC and EY already had law offices set up in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore, arguably the region's most important legal markets. But the accounting firms' Asian legal offerings were limited and appeared mostly to complement the firms' other disciplines, including tax and compliance. For the region's legal establishment, the threat of the Big Four was distant and abstract.

But in just two years, the Big Four have become a force that is penetrating Asia's legal marketing, leaving few observers who still think of them as the nonconventional fringe players they once were.

Since 2018, the Big Four have added five more affiliated law firms in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore and revamped at least three of their existing affiliates. Out of the 13 law firms operated by the Big Four in Asia, eight were launched in the past two years. Most recently, in December, KPMG became the last of the group to set up an affiliated law firm in China. With that, all four have set up local law firms in both mainland China and Hong Kong, while all but KPMG have launched Singaporean law firms (PwC and Deloitte also both operate foreign law firms in the city-state).

It isn't just about the quantity of the new offices. In many of the new law firms, the accounting giants recruited from more established local and international firms. The Big Four continue to maintain that they are not interested in directly competing with Big Law, but judging by the lawyers they have hired, they are already part of Big Law in Asia.

The upgrade in Asia kicked into high gear in 2018, when both PwC and EY relaunched their Singaporean law firms and EY significantly expanded its Hong Kong law firm. The Big Four continued their ambitious recruitment efforts in 2019, adding both lawyers and operations executives. In December, EY recruited Singapore-based Asia Pacific legal managed services leader John Knox, a veteran in flexible lawyering services who co-founded one of the Australian predecessor firms of Lawyers on Demand.

On top of that, PwC and KPMG both appointed Big Law veterans in Australia to lead their global legal offerings. Both PwC's Tony O'Malley and KPMG's Stuart Fuller were longtime King & Wood Mallesons partners. Fuller is best known as the Sino-Australian firm's global managing partner and was instrumental in the combination of King & Wood and Mallesons.

Before this, the Big Four's legal operations were often run out of Europe and usually headed by veteran firm partners with a legal background. By bringing on experienced lawyers who have spent most of their careers in professional law firms, the auditors have shown they are serious about moving into Big Law's territory, and by placing them in the Asia-Pacific region they have shown where they want to emphasize that change.

The emphasis is reflected in the firms' financial results. In the fiscal year 2019, PwC's tax and legal revenue hit $10.7 billion, up 6% from the previous year; the remaining three firms all saw tax and legal revenue grow more than 7.5%. Meanwhile, all four reported 9% revenue growth or better in Asia-Pacific, and EY, KPMG and Deloitte each had their strongest regional growth in Asia.

The Big Four aren't done. The leaders of their legal offerings all talk about expanding, hiring more and investing more. Unlike traditional law firms, which continue to struggle in Asia, the Big Four are on a tear, and they are a force to be reckoned with.

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