PwC, the Accounting Giant, Will Open a Law Firm in the U.S.
“They are Spanish, Canadian, Polish and German attorneys who have been practicing at PwC network member firms outside of the U. S.”
Another advantage of opening ILC Legal in Washington is its proximity to clients based in the United States, Mr. Edmundson said.
“We won’t be a traditional law firm, where legal services are offered in isolation,
but one part of a broader offering,” said Richard J. Edmundson, a British solicitor based in London who is PwC’s leader of international business reorganizations.
Law firms already elbowing one another for multinational clients will soon have a new competitor: The Big Four accounting
firm PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, plans to open a law firm in Washington, D. C., next week.
ILC Legal, nonetheless, aims to vie with big law firms as a one-stop shop offering multinational companies access to other PwC services, including tax consulting
and its network of 3,200 lawyers spread across 90 countries.
ILC Legal hopes to attract multinational companies seeking counsel in areas like digital security
and data protection, dispute resolution, international corporate structuring, and mergers and acquisitions, Mr. Edmundson said.
Its lawyers will act as special legal consultants, rather than fully licensed United States
lawyers, allowing them to provide counsel on foreign law but not United States law.
