Accounting & Consulting Services

Overview

Managing risk to protect your reputation

Accounting and consulting firms operate in regulated environments where reputation is critical to success – investigations, disputes, and regulatory scrutiny can erode client confidence. At the same time, firms face continuous pressure to adapt to evolving client demands. Our accounting lawyers help you balance growth and innovation with the legal, regulatory, and reputational considerations that shape the accounting and consulting industry.

Our accounting and consulting services team includes litigators, transactional lawyers, and regulatory defense lawyers across offices worldwide. Many of our lawyers served as senior in-house counsel at major accounting firms or held leadership roles within government agencies, so we understand the challenges firms face in managing risk while driving growth.

We help you navigate the regulatory frameworks, standards, and agencies that govern how your firm operates, including:

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
US Department of Justice (DOJ)
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards
Privacy and cybersecurity laws
Government contracts requirements
Other US and international regulatory frameworks

Strategic transactions are often critical to expanding capabilities and strengthening your competitive position. Our lawyers help you structure and close high-value transactions, including acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and alternative practice structures, as well as ESOP and other employee ownership transactions. We negotiate key terms, manage regulatory considerations, and navigate the governance and operational issues that can impact business value.

We also guide you through the responsible adoption of new technologies that can help you scale. Our accounting and consulting services team advises you on technology and operational risk management, governance frameworks, data use, vendor agreements, privacy and cybersecurity obligations, and AI-related compliance.

In an industry built on trust, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance, disputes can create significant exposure. Our lawyers represent you in investigations, arbitrations, and litigation involving trade secrets, whistleblower claims, employment matters, cybersecurity incidents, and professional malpractice claims. We develop legal strategies designed to minimize disruption, protect confidential information, and preserve client trust.

Our accounting lawyers understand the operational, regulatory, and commercial realities that shape your industry. We provide coordinated legal counsel that is aligned with your business goals, helping you manage risk and protect the reputation your business is built on.

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Additional capabilities

Structuring and closing key transactions

Employment counseling and litigation

Government contracts advisory and compliance

Federal government agencies, as well as state and local governments, rely on accounting and consulting firms to execute and support a wide array of public programs and ensure accountability and transparency for those programs after the fact. Our Government Contracts Practice Group has extensive experience with the principal contracting vehicles used by these customers, as well as the complex web of statutory, regulatory, contractual, and common law requirements that govern the federal, state, and local government markets.

Our experience includes:

Acquisitions of accounting, auditing, and consulting services through the GSA Multiple Awards Schedule program (aka the Federal Supply Schedule) under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 8.4, commercial item acquisitions under FAR Part 12, and negotiated procurements under FAR Part 15
Establishing the commercial nature of services and solutions to leverage the exemption of commercial products and services from many compliance obligations that otherwise apply to government contractors and subcontractors
Advising on compliance with statutory, regulatory, and subregulatory terms and conditions, including standard FAR/FAR Supplement “flow down” clauses, the Price Reductions and Transactional Data Reporting requirements of the GSA Multiple Award Schedule program, and the Service Contract Labor Standards (aka the Service Contract Act)
Working with our Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group to advise on cybersecurity requirements tied to government contracts, including Defense Federal Acquisition Regulatory Supplement, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, and the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program
Conducting internal investigations into reports of potential noncompliance and advising on appropriate disclosures to government officials and remedial measures to ensure compliance
Prosecuting and defending bid protests challenging contract awards and the conduct of procurements
Litigating disputes between (a) prime contractors and government agencies and (b) prime contractors and subcontractors

Our focus area leads:Daniel P. Graham

Privacy and cybersecurity compliance and risk management

AI adoption and risk management

“They have the experience to guide us to practical solutions and are very responsive, which is a critical attribute for in-house counsel facing myriad internal pressures.”

Chambers USA, client testimonial

Ranked Nationally Band 1 in Accountant and Auditor Liability

Chambers USA 2025

Results

Represented multiple domestic and international accounting firms in PCAOB investigations involving auditor independence, critical audit matters, and audit committee communications, achieving favorable outcomes in all concluded matters
Obtained dismissal with prejudice of a Section 11 claim asserted by a putative class of shareholders arising from audits of a publicly traded insurance company; dismissal was affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Advised a leading advisory and consulting firm that operates in an alternative practice structure in connection with the acquisition of one of the US’s largest public accounting firms