ECJ to rule on Andersen ‘merger’ ban

Date: 07/09/00

THE European Court of Justice is set to hear a key test case which could lead to a shake-up the way lawyers and accountants do business across the Union.

It follows complaints by Wouters Advocaten & Notarissen, a law firm in the Netherlands, which wants the Court to overturn a ban by the Dutch Bar preventing it from linking up with accounting giant Arthur Andersen.

The company argues that multi-disciplinary practices, where legal professionals and accountants join forces, offer huge benefits to clients by giving them access to a wide range of expertise under one roof.

But the Dutch Bar has banned such tie-ups, claiming that they could result in the legal profession being subsumed by powerful accounting firms such as Andersen. It also claims the ban is needed to ensure lawyers comply with the profession's core rules of conduct.

In an internal document, Andersen Legal - which is made up of a network of independent lawyers across the world - claims this approach is a blatant attempt to protect the established profession from the chill winds of competition and falls foul of Union anti-trust rules.

"This is how the bar in the Netherlands and bars in other countries have tried to spin the debate, painting doom and gloom for the legal profession. This is nonsense - clients tell us they want the ability to instruct law firms of their choice in jurisdictions around the world. They should be free to exercise that choice," it argues.

Jeremy Jennings, Arthur Andersen's EU affairs expert, added: "If the Court comes down against us, it will have implications far beyond the Netherlands."

He said multi-disciplinary practices are allowed in many member states, but lawyers in others, such as Spain, France and parts of Belgium, are opposed to them and an ECJ ruling could pave the way for more bans.

The European Court of Justice is set to hear a key test case which sould lead to a shake-up of the way lawyers and accountants do business across the Union. It follows complaints by Wouters Advocaten & Notarissen, a law firm in the Netherlands, which wants the court to overturn a ban by the Dutch Bar preventing it from linking up with accounting giant Arthur Andersen.