The accounting industry has changed dramatically over the past five years, and many of the same forces are beginning to reshape the legal industry. We’re expanding into the legal space to help law firms navigate this shift, uncover growth opportunities, and remain competitive as the market evolves.
By Tim Keith
Accounting and law firms are fundamentally different from each other, but the market pressures reshaping both industries don’t care about those distinctions. Private equity firms certainly don’t. To them, both sectors represent fragmented professional services industries ripe for consolidation.
Firms that fail to adapt risk losing clients, talent, and market share to competitors moving faster and thinking bigger.
The firms that are succeeding today—in both the accounting and legal industries—share a few important characteristics:
The accounting profession has been turned upside down by outside forces. Technology, outside investments, and client buying patterns have turned this relationship-driven profession into a competitive and price sensitive business. The accounting industry has been transformed by consolidation, private equity investment, technology, rising client expectations, and mounting pressure to drive growth over the past five years. What does that have to do with law firms?
These same dynamics are beginning to influence the legal sector, creating both new challenges and new opportunities for law firms prepared to adapt.
Law firms have operated under a different set of rules. Outside ownership and private equity participation were largely off the table. Growth models were more traditional. Many firms relied heavily on reputation, referrals, and established networks to maintain success.
The law firm market is changing quickly. M&A activity across the legal sector continues to accelerate, with law firm mergers increasing by 18% year-over-year in 2025. In states like Arizona, alternative business structures are opening the door for private equity investment and non-lawyer ownership. These changes are fundamentally altering the competitive landscape and creating new expectations around growth, innovation, and client service.
The legal industry is entering a period that should feel very familiar to anyone who has watched what happened in accounting. Even if you plan to ignore current trends and technology, your competitors are changing. They are looking to take a deeper share of their client’s legal work by offering a broader array of services.
With firms tending to have fewer and more strategic business partners, you lose clients simply because you haven’t offered your clients more services than you have historically. Firms that wait too long to adapt may find themselves with fewer clients and struggling to catch up.
Similar “late adopters” in the accounting space who were relying solely on long-standing relationships and repeat business are fading. Accounting firms that wanted to survive—and more importantly, thrive—had to become proactive about growth. Some firms chose to merge. Others sought outside investment or strategic partnerships. The firms that adapted focused heavily on organic growth, improving client engagement, and identifying opportunities already sitting within their existing relationships.
Some firms flourished. Some disappeared. Others are still trying to figure out where they fit in this new landscape.
At Propense.ai, we’ve had a front-row seat to this transformation within the accounting industry. We’ve worked alongside firms navigating consolidation, operational change, and increasing competition while helping them uncover smarter ways to grow from within.
Growth requires more focus than ever. The firms gaining momentum are actively looking across their client base to understand unmet needs, identify patterns, strengthen relationships, and create more value over time before competitors scoop them up. They aren’t waiting for opportunities to walk through the door. Instead, they’re building processes that proactively uncover opportunities on a daily basis.
This is one of the biggest lessons the accounting industry has taught us over the last five years, and an important one for law firms beginning to face the same challenges: Market disruption creates pressure, but it also creates opportunity.
The firms that embrace change early often emerge stronger, more resilient, and better positioned for the future.
As Propense expands into the legal industry, we’re excited to partner with law firms navigating this next chapter. The challenges may look different on the surface, but the underlying need is the same: firms need smarter ways to grow, retain clients, and stay competitive in an increasingly dynamic market.
The legal industry is changing. Will your law firm sink or swim?
With AI-powered business development and client relationship tools like Propense and Hatfield at your side, you’ll be one step closer to riding the next big wave ahead. In addition to working with Am Law 200 firms, we’ve been featured in legal publications like Law360 and Law.com, providing resources and insights to growth-oriented professionals.
Schedule a demo to learn how we can strengthen your firm’s growth efforts in this quickly changing landscape.