EY acquires Thomson Reuters legal services business

The Big Four firm has acquired Thomson Reuters’ 1,000-strong Pangea3 Legal Managed Services as part of its latest move in the legal services sector

This follows on from the recent acquisition of Riverview Law and further broadens EY Law Practices, which has more than 2,400 lawyers across 84 countries.

“Legal departments recognise that the future lies in aligning more closely with broader business transformation and we are uniquely positioned to offer a globally consistent, leading approach across the enterprise,” said Kate Barton, EY global vice chair, tax.

Pangea3 has more than 1,000 legal professionals working in eight locations on three continents.

Through the acquisition EY aims to improve its legal services offering, focussing on lifecycle management, regulatory risk and compliance, and investigation and litigation.

The firm says it will also continue to “rapidly grow” its legal advisory services.

Mark Weinberger, EY global chairman and CEO, said that the recent acquisition makes the firm one of the leading professional services firms in terms of global legal advisory and legal services, and that it “is an example of how EY is working to provide clients with holistic solutions, which are enabled by technology”.

In the UK, PwC became the first of the Big Four to apply for an alternative business structure license in 2013 in order to grow its legal services offering.