The storm over our heads: The rendering of legal services by audit firms in Spain

Abstract

In the last few years the legal profession in Spain has been in turmoil. The market for legal services has undergone profound changes and the profession has done its utmost to adapt to client’s new demands, modernising ® rms and improving the quality of the services rendered. Besides, the Spanish market for legal services is growing at a rate 20% higher than other European markets. The needs of clients have placed two challenges before Spanish attorneys and these have forced law ® rms into two diVerent forms of association. The ® rst has to do with globalisation. Business has grown transnationally and lawyers have had to attend client’s demands of legal services in other countries. This has lead Spanish law ® rms to increase their size and also to many kinds of international alliances and networks formed by several ® rms from diVerent countries. There are some instances of Spanish law ® rms trying to extend their services into other countries, by establishing a branch oYce or by taking over a foreign ® rm. This worldwide phenomenon aVects the legal professions of all countries, which ® nd themselves in ® erce competition for clients. In the case of Spain, however, the pressure and competition by foreign law ® rms has been more relevant due to two important factors. First, the increasing competition by foreign attorneys within the single European market. Secondly, the Spanish legal market is seen by many foreign ® rms as the access gate to the South American legal market. The ® rst challenge is therefore about competition among law ® rms in an increasingly integrated worldwide market for legal services (intraprofessional competition). The second challenge is related to multidisciplinary services and the rendering of non-legal services by law ® rms or the rendering of legal services by non-law ® rms. Law ® rms, consulting and auditing ® rms are becoming multi-product ® rms. In this case, law ® rms’ competition is not directly with other law ® rms but with other professionals, mainly audit and consulting ® rms (interprofessional competition).