Deloitte has acquired London-based technology firm Kemp Little, in a deal described as a "watershed" for its growing legal arm. 

This agreement doubles the number of staff in the Deloitte Legal team in the UK to 170 lawyers.

This has been one of the largest agreements between one of the big four accounting firms and a UK law firm ever agreed.

Kemp Little is a firm specialising in commercial, corporate, employment, data protection, disputes, intellectual property and financial regulation, and has also developed a number of legal technology products, including the Dupe Killer tool, which provides intellectual property protection services.

"This transaction marks a key moment in Deloitte Legal's growth," said Richard Houston, senior partner and managing director of Deloitte Northern and Southern Europe.  "This demonstrates our confidence and willingness to invest where there is clear market demand.

"We are all excited to join forces with Deloitte Legal in the end to provide a very compelling offer in a market that has long demanded greater innovation in the provision of legal services", said Kemp Little's managing partner, Andrew Joint.

Deloitte has announced that this agreement would allow its legal arm to offer clients "a much broader and deeper range of legal expertise to complement existing services in advisory, technology, legal management consulting and legal management services".