KPMG approved to launch US law firm in first for Big Four
Feb 27 (Reuters) - KPMG won approval from Arizona's Supreme Court on Thursday to launch a law firm in Arizona, making it the first of the Big Four accounting firms to be able to practice law in the United States.
KPMG Law US, an independently-managed subsidiary of KPMG, will work with the accounting firm to provide legal and consulting services, the firm said.
"KPMG is uniquely positioned to transform the delivery of legal services," Rema Serafi, vice chair of tax at KPMG LLP, said in a statement.
Arizona in 2020 became the first U.S. state to scrap rules barring non-lawyers from having an economic interest in law firms, allowing them to have co-ownership with court approval.
Most states still allow only lawyers to practice law, own law firms and share legal fees. Supporters of reforming such barriers say they can make legal advice more expensive, hamper innovation in the market and restrict access to justice.
Utah introduced limited reforms similar to Arizona's in 2020. But such efforts have stalled in some states, including California, in part over fears of ethical abuses if providers are not fully bound by professional rules that licensed lawyers must obey.
KPMG Law US "will be governed by the same high ethical standards that apply to other law firms," a KPMG US spokesperson told Reuters while its Arizona application was under review.
Arizona's high court licensed, opens new tab the KPMG subsidiary as an alternative legal business on Thursday after a court committee recommended approval last month.
The decision "places Arizona's ABS program in the national and global spotlight as a groundbreaking approach to providing legal services," the court said in a statement.
As a condition of approval, KPMG Law US will not be allowed to provide legal services to clients for which KPMG LLP or its network firms perform financial audits.
KPMG has said its new law firm unit will provide technology-powered legal services including legal operations consulting, volume contracting and other managed services.
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