Editorial
“
The ´Big Four´ have
quietly slipped into
Portugal
”
It may have gone unnoticed by some, but the ´Big Four’
have taken some tentative steps into the Portuguese legal
market. As our News Focus on page 16 reveals, Deloitte
and KPMG have both incorporated Portuguese law firms
into their legal networks, with PwC expected to be the
next to make a similar move. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the
´Big Four´ have not made a big deal of these advances
– largely because the Portuguese Bar has been fiercely
resistant to the presence of multidisciplinary practices in
the country’s legal market.
However, despite the hostility shown by the Bar, the
‘Big Four’ have, in the words of one managing partner at
one of the traditional Portuguese law firms, found “clever
ways to enter the market”. Can the heavyweight MDPs
replicate the success they’ve had in the Spanish market
in Portugal? Potentially yes, say some Lisbon lawyers,
though others argue that conflicts of interest mean that
the chances of Deloitte, EY, PwC and KPMG becoming
major players in the Portuguese legal market are limited.
That said, the unheralded arrival of the ‘Big Four’ is
causing some concern among partners at the established
Portuguese players. There are fears that fees could drop
as a price war erupts, while there is also a view that the
task of retaining top talent is about to get much more
difficult for the more traditional law firms in Lisbon.
This issue also includes our annual ranking of the top
law firm brands in Spain and Portugal. Has your firm
boosted its reputation in the last year? Find out on page 6.
And finally, given that this is the last issue of Iberian
Lawyer for 2016, I would like to thank you all for your
support over the last 12 months.
I wish you happy holidays and a prosperous New
Year.
Ben Cook
Editor
Iberian Lawyer
[email protected]
Twitter: @BenCook_Iberian
www.iberianlawyer.com
November / December 2016 • IBERIAN LAWYER •
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