Plans are under way to establish a new Irish law firm which will be closely associated with the accountancy practice PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Irish Times has learned.

The new firm will be as closely integrated with PwC as Bar and Law Society rules permit. At present, multidisciplinary practices are not allowed, so the new firm, the first of its kind in the State, will operate independently on a stand-alone basis. However, it will form part of the global network of legal firms associated with PwC internationally.

As a result, it should receive significant referral business from overseas firms. In Ireland, it should also receive business through the accountancy firm, with whom it will have common clients, although the new firm will seek clients in its own right as well.

The first partner in the new firm will be Mr Edward Evans, who is currently a partner in William Fry Solicitors, specialising in company and commercial law, information technology, intellectual property and e-commerce.

Mr Evans will join PwC in early March 1999. It is understood that a small team is likely to be transferred from PwC to the new legal firm, including PwC's three practising lawyers in Dublin. Down the line, as the new business grows, it is expected to start recruiting in its own right.

The name of the new firm has not yet been announced as it is awaiting a decision on the common name to be used by the global legal network. PwC currently has a well co-ordinated law practice with 1,200 business lawyers in 40 countries serving the firm's major clients.

It recently announced a merger with two of Spain's leading law firms to create the second-largest law firm in Spain and it is also about to open talks with potential partners in London and New York. Law firms associated with the company are independent and regulated by their respective Bar Councils and Law Societies.

It is understood that PwC sees the move into legal services as an opportunity to enhance the high added value consulting content of their existing tax, regulatory, business and accounting advisory practices.

In recent years the line separating the once distinct worlds of law and accountancy has become increasingly blurred.

A move by accountancy firms to improve the legal service they offer clients has been widely expected as legal firms have made significant inroads into traditional accounting areas, particularly in the area of taxation. Some Irish law firms expect tax to account for as much as 25 per cent of their business in the next few years.