Big Four’s assault on the legal market continues
Accountancy giant PwC has strengthened its grip on the legal services sector today by announcing a “strategic alliance” with US law firm Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen and Loewy.
The Big Four outfit has confirmed it has entered into an agreement with New York-headquartered firm to enable collaboration and combined marketing efforts with respect to their immigration services in the US. Fragomen has over 550 lawyers across 16 offices and generated revenues in excess of £438 million during the last financial year.
According to the announcement, the rise in cross-border employee mobility, coupled with the current geopolitical landscape, makes immigration increasingly challenging. As a result, this is creating new compliance challenges for organisations as governments begin to track tax and immigration requirements on a more integrated basis, the statement adds.
Julia Onslow-Cole, PwC UK partner and head of PwC’s global immigration practice, said:
“We are proud of our global immigration practice, which covers more than 170 countries. Making our respective immigration teams available to clients, particularly in the US, will provide an even deeper level of local insight. The PwC and Fragomen alliance will also facilitate more strategic, global insights on the impact of government policies on both corporate immigration and mobility.”
PwC’s legal arm bagged Alternative Business Structure (ABS) approval in 2015. Two years later it integrated its legal offering into PwC and now offers around 25 training contracts each year. Legal Cheek‘s First Most List shows newly qualified (NQ) London lawyers start on £63,000.
Today’s news comes just weeks after fellow Big Four player EY confirmed it had purchased legal innovation outfit Riverview Law. Speaking at the time, EY said the acquisition underlines its position “as a leading disruptor of legal services”.