Deloitte Legal Acquires UK Law Firm Kemp Little

Breaking News: Deloitte has today announced that it has signed an agreement that will, on completion, see the team from Kemp Little, a leading technology and digital media law firm, become part of Deloitte Legal in what is a major step forward for the Big Four legal arm. The deal will see 29 partners and up to 57 lawyers join them upon completion. 

The future combination of the two firms’ capabilities will significantly increase the number of lawyers and will see Deloitte Legal offer clients a much broader and deeper range of legal expertise to complement existing services in advisory, technology, legal management consultancy and legal managed services. Following completion, Deloitte Legal’s lawyer headcount in the UK will increase to more than 170, up from approximately 85 currently.

Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte North and South Europe, commented: “This transaction marks a key moment in the growth of Deloitte Legal. This demonstrates our confidence and willingness to invest where there is clear market demand. Bringing in the depth of talent in the Kemp Little team, from solicitors to technology specialists, will allow Deloitte Legal to offer clients a much broader range of legal expertise.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown that investment in technology will be a critical catalyst for the recovery of UK businesses. Business leaders are looking for more digital ways of operating, setting the stage for significant and longer-term cultural change. On completion, this transaction, with technology at its core, will ensure Deloitte Legal is well positioned to help businesses thrive as they transition to new ways of working.”

Andrew Joint, managing partner for Kemp Little, added: “This is an exciting time for Kemp Little as we build on our achievements over the last 23 years. Having already collaborated on a number of projects in the past, Deloitte Legal and Kemp Little have a track record of working together successfully. The team at Deloitte Legal is growing a unique and exciting combination of technology, consulting and legal advisory skills, and also benefits from the Deloitte network’s global scale. Kemp Little’s aim has always been to focus on delivering excellent technology and digital related legal services in a client focused way. We are all excited about joining forces with Deloitte Legal at completion to provide a very compelling offering in a market that has long been demanding greater innovation in the delivery of legal services.”

Michael Castle, managing partner for Deloitte Legal in the UK, concluded: “Today’s announcement is a milestone in the evolution of the delivery of legal solutions. Kemp Little is market-leading in the practice areas that Deloitte Legal has identified as being core to its offering.  These areas are all synergistic with Deloitte’s wider business, meaning that we will be able to offer end-to-end professional services in areas like commercial technology and digital media.  

“Kemp Little shares our goal of combining top quality legal expertise with leading capabilities in technology, consulting and scale delivery to provide the market with innovative solutions to complex legal challenges. 

“The addition of Kemp Little’s lawyers and their experience of developing their own technology products will represent a significant change in the scale of our advisory practice, and will accelerate the development of our own technology-led legal offerings for clients.”

The completion of the transaction will see Deloitte Legal grow to more than 370 people in the UK, delivering technology-enabled legal solutions in areas such as employment, litigation, corporate, commercial, regulatory compliance and immigration. The news follows Deloitte Legal’s recent expansion of both its Legal Managed Services and Legal Management Consulting business, as well as the launch of Deloitte Legal Ventures.

More shortly on what this all means.