Where to begin? The turmoil at Andersen is something to behold. Events are moving so quickly that in the time between the writing of this column and Legal Week hitting the streets, the fate of this once great professional services firm may have been sealed. Whatever happens to Andersen and Andersen Legal, the fallout from the Enron affair will have a major impact on the practice of law. Here are a few potential repercussions of this massive event.
- Size. The sight of UK-based Andersen partners falling over themselves to distance themselves from their colleagues in the US last weekend blew a large hole in the concept of the global professional services firm. Many business lawyers will be wondering just how large law firms can get before meaningful quality control goes out of the window. As we revealed last week, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is planning to spin off its central European network because of its reliance on salaried partners. This could turn into a trend.
