Page 7 - Global Legal and Accounting Markets 1985 - 2022
P. 7
Global Law and Accounting Practices and Markets
is the relative market share for the Big Five firms never exceeded 0.4% of the total legal market which remains
the same today.
The contrast between size and markets (or countries) is
illustrated by the opposite two charts. While the size of
individual law firms is similar to the Big Four, the Big Four
legal practices are, on average, located in more than twice
the number of countries.
Financially, each of the largest firms or vereins has
revenues exceeding the combined total of $2 billion of
legal services provided by the Big Four.30 The risk to
Biglaw is illustrated by the sheer size of the Big Four’s legal
coverage. Biglaw is confined to the same exact 30
locations (Paris, London, Frankfurt, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro,
etc.) in which the Big Four have their largest office.
The risk for Biglaw is that their market footprint is smaller
than vereins and the Big Four, as illustrated by the charts below. As financially-interconnected firms, their
growth continues to be limited. Additionally, they are not able to combine resources with accounting
networks and associations as a result of their structures.
30 David Wilkins & Maria Jose Esteban, The Reemergence of the Big Four in Law, HARVARD CENTER ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION (Jan. 2016) (global legal
market is $700 billion), https://thepractice.law.harvard.edu/issue/volume-2-issue-2/.
5
is the relative market share for the Big Five firms never exceeded 0.4% of the total legal market which remains
the same today.
The contrast between size and markets (or countries) is
illustrated by the opposite two charts. While the size of
individual law firms is similar to the Big Four, the Big Four
legal practices are, on average, located in more than twice
the number of countries.
Financially, each of the largest firms or vereins has
revenues exceeding the combined total of $2 billion of
legal services provided by the Big Four.30 The risk to
Biglaw is illustrated by the sheer size of the Big Four’s legal
coverage. Biglaw is confined to the same exact 30
locations (Paris, London, Frankfurt, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro,
etc.) in which the Big Four have their largest office.
The risk for Biglaw is that their market footprint is smaller
than vereins and the Big Four, as illustrated by the charts below. As financially-interconnected firms, their
growth continues to be limited. Additionally, they are not able to combine resources with accounting
networks and associations as a result of their structures.
30 David Wilkins & Maria Jose Esteban, The Reemergence of the Big Four in Law, HARVARD CENTER ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION (Jan. 2016) (global legal
market is $700 billion), https://thepractice.law.harvard.edu/issue/volume-2-issue-2/.
5
