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The Delivery Of Legal Services Through Multidisciplinary Practices, James M. Mccauley

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

During the last decade, the "Big Six" accounting firms entered into the legal services market overseas by establishing, acquiring, or forming ties with law firms around the world. These entities or business relationships have been called "multidisciplinary practices" or MDPs. Unlike the United States, many European countries do not prohibit partnerships and fee splitting arrangements between lawyers and nonlawyers. The February 1998 issue of the American Bar Association Journal published an article entitled "Squeeze Play" describing a turf war between the major accounting firms and lawyers practicing law in Europe. KPMG Peat Marwick, Arthur Andersen, Ernst & Young, Price Waterhouse, …