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Law Firms

KPMG’s bid to deliver legal services delayed as top Arizona court seeks more information

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 29, 2025, 3:21 pm CST

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday pushed back a decision on whether to allow a new subsidiary of accounting company KPMG to practice law in the state.

KPMG Law US is seeking to operate through Arizona’s alternative business structure program, which allows nonlawyers to own or invest in law firms. The state supreme court has requested “additional information or clarification on aspects of the application” before reaching a decision, a court spokesperson told Bloomberg Law and Law.com.

The Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on Alternative Business Structures had unanimously recommended approval of KPMG’s application earlier this month. The committee acted after a KPMG representative answered questions, including a query about how the firm would provide legal services in other states without violating ethics rules.

The new firm plans to work with staffing agencies and local lawyers to serve clients in other jurisdictions, KPMG compliance lawyer David Rizzo told the committee.

KPMG, which has more than 3,750 employees, already has legal practices in more than 80 jurisdictions.

Law360 recently spoke with Christian Athanasoulas, a U.S. tax partner and head of tax services at KPMG, about the accounting company’s plans.

KPMG Law US plans to hire Arizona-licensed lawyers who will deliver legal services in the state. The new firm does not intend to offer legal services to audit clients but will seek opportunities with clients served by its tax and advisory businesses.

“We’ve recognized that there is a need for services related to legal that are very much adjacent to the services we deliver today,” Athanasoulas said. “That’s not a full portfolio of legal services but rather a handful of pinpointed legal services that address client pain points and are adjacent to our existing portfolio and service offerings.”

Athanasoulas noted that Arizona wants to bring innovation to the legal profession. KPMG has already “invested incredible resources in technology, including AI,” and that investment could help KPMG Law US deliver “a better work product in a faster, more efficient way,” he said.

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Criminal Justice

Murder trial delayed for slain law prof’s mother-in-law after her lead lawyer resigns

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 18, 2024, 1:21 pm CDT

A Florida woman accused in the July 2014 murder of her son-in-law, a professor at the Florida State University College of Law, won’t be going to trial in Tallahassee, Florida, this week because of the resignation of her lead attorney.

Lawyer Dan Rashbaum resigned Tuesday, the same day that jury selection was to begin in the murder trial of 74-year-old Donna Adelson, report the Tallahassee Democrat (here and here), WTXL and Florida Politics.

The resignation could open up possible new defense for Adelson, according to a lawyer on the defense team who is now her lead lawyer.

Rashbaum represented Donna Adelson and her son, dentist Charlie Adelson, who was convicted in November 2023 for hiring hit men to kill professor Dan Markel. Donna Adelson is accused of being part of the murder plot, allegedly carried out during a custody battle between Markel and Adelson’s daughter, Wendi Adelson. The alleged motive was to allow Wendi Adelson to move with the children from Tallahassee, Florida, to be near her family in Miami.

Charlie Adelson had contended at his trial that he was a victim of an extortion plot carried out by the two men who killed Markel.

Rashbaum cited a potential conflict of interest that arose after Charlie Adelson was subpoenaed to testify in his mother’s trial. On Monday, Charlie Adelson’s appellate team filed a notice advising that he didn’t consent to Rashbaum cross-examining him and no longer consented to Rashbaum representing his mother, according to Robert “Alex” Morris, Donna Adelson’s new lead lawyer.

Donna Adelson told Judge Stephen Everett in Leon County, Florida, that she consented to the joint representation. She was arrested at the Miami International Airport a week after Charlie Adelson’s conviction. She and her husband were buying one-way tickets to Vietnam.

Morris spoke with reporters outside the courthouse in an interview posted by WTXL.

Morris said everyone was aware of a potential conflict, but waivers were in place until Charlie Adelson revoked consent, as he had a right to do. That ended the “game plan, if you will, and necessitated a different one,” he said.

“Ultimately, the, the question is, is whether or not their positions are at odds with one another, and there’s absolutely the potential of that,” Morris said.

Rashbaum’s resignation “opens up pathways to, in exploring different defenses that may not have been previously available,” Morris said.

He also mentioned the possibility of a plea deal. “You never know,” he said.

See also:

Did dentist hire hit men to kill law prof Dan Markel, his ex-brother-in-law? ‘Absolutely no,’ he testifies

Defense blames law prof’s murder on extortion plot; lawyer ex-wife denies family involvement

Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump recently filed a motion to adjourn his impending New York City hush money trial.

In the 31-page motion, the 45th president’s defense team claims their client “cannot get a fair trial in Manhattan County right now.”

“[N]o fair and impartial jury can be selected in this County at any time in the near future, including in April of this year,” the motion reads. “Therefore, the Court should adjourn the trial date until the prejudicial media coverage subsides.”