Page 19 - Lawyers and Accountants - The Future of the Professions
P. 19
Lawyers and Accountants 2019 -
Law firm networks, despite their size, are not well-known. Compare this to Biglaw and the Big Four. While
Biglaw’s number of attorneys is fewer, media recognition for the Big Four is hundreds of times higher58
Local firms are also being assaulted from law vereins. They have substantial recognition (see Hungary table)
and large marketing budgets. The vereins are not limited by their structure. Unlike accounting networks, law
firms often belong to multiple networks which make membership in a verein inviting.61 As the vereins enter
the market by merging with local firms, a competitive threat is created.
An example is what happened in Houston, Texas when nine new firms entered the Houston market.62 The
same will occur to local firms in other countries.
58 id
61 LOCATE LAW NETWORKS, available at http://www.locatelawnetworks.com.
62Nicholas Bruch, When Regional Legal Markets Get “Invaded”: The Impact on Local Firms, LAW.COM (June 12, 2018),
https://www.law.com/2018/06/12/when-regional-legal-markets-get-invaded-the-impact-on-local-
firms?et=editorial&bu=ALM%20Intelligence&cn=20180628&src=EMC-Email&pt=Analyst%20Brief (an excerpt of ALM Intelligence's recent report on
the invasion of regional legal markets and how mid-sized firms should respond).
16
Law firm networks, despite their size, are not well-known. Compare this to Biglaw and the Big Four. While
Biglaw’s number of attorneys is fewer, media recognition for the Big Four is hundreds of times higher58
Local firms are also being assaulted from law vereins. They have substantial recognition (see Hungary table)
and large marketing budgets. The vereins are not limited by their structure. Unlike accounting networks, law
firms often belong to multiple networks which make membership in a verein inviting.61 As the vereins enter
the market by merging with local firms, a competitive threat is created.
An example is what happened in Houston, Texas when nine new firms entered the Houston market.62 The
same will occur to local firms in other countries.
58 id
61 LOCATE LAW NETWORKS, available at http://www.locatelawnetworks.com.
62Nicholas Bruch, When Regional Legal Markets Get “Invaded”: The Impact on Local Firms, LAW.COM (June 12, 2018),
https://www.law.com/2018/06/12/when-regional-legal-markets-get-invaded-the-impact-on-local-
firms?et=editorial&bu=ALM%20Intelligence&cn=20180628&src=EMC-Email&pt=Analyst%20Brief (an excerpt of ALM Intelligence's recent report on
the invasion of regional legal markets and how mid-sized firms should respond).
16
