Targets $400 billion US legal market
KPMG is set to flex its legal muscles in the United States, applying for a license to operate under Arizona’s alternative business structure (ABS) programme.
If successful, ‘KPMG Law US’ would become the first of the Big Four to breach the long-standing barrier keeping them out of the country’s $400 billion legal market.
Arizona’s ABS program, launched in 2021, allows non-lawyers to co-own and invest in legal practices — breaking with the traditional rules that keep ownership restricted to licensed lawyers. Over 100 firms have already been approved under the regime, including legal tech leaders like LegalZoom. KPMG’s application is set to be reviewed by the Arizona Supreme Court on January 14.
Through this model KPMG aims to focus on high-volume, process-driven legal services, such as managing contracts, conducting remediation projects, and streamlining contracts during mergers. The firm positions its new venture as complementary to traditional law firms, rather than as a direct competitor. However, this approach has sparked renewed conversations about how Big Four firms could reshape the industry.
While the Big Four, KPMG, Deloitte, EY, and PwC, have long provided legal-adjacent services in the US, they’ve been barred from practicing law due to ethical restrictions. Globally, however, KPMG has been a major player in the legal sector, operating in over 80 jurisdictions and reporting a 10% revenue boost in its tax and legal services division last year.
In the UK all of the Big Four firms have ventured into the legal services market, with PwC leading the charge by obtaining ABS status in January 2014, followed by KPMG in October 2014. EY obtained ABS status in December of the same year, and Deloitte joined the trio by securing its status in June 2018.
Critics of the ABS model in the US worry about the impact of non-lawyer ownership on professional ethics, though KPMG has promised that its legal operations will meet the same high ethical standards as traditional law firms.
The outcome of KPMG’s Arizona bid could pave the way for other professional services giants to follow suit, creating new competition for Big Law in the States. All eyes are on Arizona’s Supreme Court to see if KPMG is set to shake up the US legal industry.
