Page 11 - Lawyers and Accountants - The Future of the Professions
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Lawyers and Accountants 2019 -
counsel on most matters with Biglaw.
How can one subjectively evaluate a legal network and their members? There are three ways:
1. Size is an indirect measure of the reflection of member firms and their number. In this regard, the
largest networks’ footprints are equal to any
of the Big Four. Statistically, the number of
ranked members of any country’s law
networks is far larger in terms of the number
Biglaw or the Big Four. However, this fact is
not common knowledge, because network
members are in smaller countries and receive
very little media attention. This is contrasted
by the Big Four, which are also in small
jurisdictions but are recognized by their
presence in the largest countries. When a Big
Four member opens a legal office in the
smallest country, it is big news.
2. Network firms are local and of the highest
quality, but they are not perceived as such.
This difference is dramatically illustrated by
the number of directories published
annually, in which more than 95 percent of
these firms are the highest ranked. These are
the same firms that are members of networks
but are not recognized as members in
rankings.33
3. Despite high rankings in practice areas, the common perception is that the global firms have more
experience and are of higher quality. This perception is created by the legal media, whose offices are
in New York and London.
The combination of these factors reduce the perceived importance of law firm network members in their
countries. They should be measured by the scope of their practices and the quality of their services.
(C) Accounting Networks and Associations
The market forces creating disruption in the legal profession34 are simultaneously creating opportunities in
the accounting profession. When the Big Four expands to legal services, it shifts the referral pattern from the
Big Four to other accounting firms which are not competitors of law firms.
33 See Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500, and IFLR 1000.
34 John Gould & Michael Stacey, Are Accountants Disrupting the Legal Services Market? ECONOMIA (Jan. 14, 2016),
http://economia.icaew.com/opinion/january-2016/are-accountants-disrupting-the-legal-services-market.
8
counsel on most matters with Biglaw.
How can one subjectively evaluate a legal network and their members? There are three ways:
1. Size is an indirect measure of the reflection of member firms and their number. In this regard, the
largest networks’ footprints are equal to any
of the Big Four. Statistically, the number of
ranked members of any country’s law
networks is far larger in terms of the number
Biglaw or the Big Four. However, this fact is
not common knowledge, because network
members are in smaller countries and receive
very little media attention. This is contrasted
by the Big Four, which are also in small
jurisdictions but are recognized by their
presence in the largest countries. When a Big
Four member opens a legal office in the
smallest country, it is big news.
2. Network firms are local and of the highest
quality, but they are not perceived as such.
This difference is dramatically illustrated by
the number of directories published
annually, in which more than 95 percent of
these firms are the highest ranked. These are
the same firms that are members of networks
but are not recognized as members in
rankings.33
3. Despite high rankings in practice areas, the common perception is that the global firms have more
experience and are of higher quality. This perception is created by the legal media, whose offices are
in New York and London.
The combination of these factors reduce the perceived importance of law firm network members in their
countries. They should be measured by the scope of their practices and the quality of their services.
(C) Accounting Networks and Associations
The market forces creating disruption in the legal profession34 are simultaneously creating opportunities in
the accounting profession. When the Big Four expands to legal services, it shifts the referral pattern from the
Big Four to other accounting firms which are not competitors of law firms.
33 See Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500, and IFLR 1000.
34 John Gould & Michael Stacey, Are Accountants Disrupting the Legal Services Market? ECONOMIA (Jan. 14, 2016),
http://economia.icaew.com/opinion/january-2016/are-accountants-disrupting-the-legal-services-market.
8
