High-end commercial property litigators will be the most in-demand breed of lawyer in London over the coming year, recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark predicted this week.

Banks that have already refinanced commercial property loans are beginning to call in specialist litigators to try and recover massive losses following a sharp fall in commercial property prices.

As a result, there will be an unmet demand for top commercial property litigators, who can expect offers of increased salaries from rival firms in the City, the recruiters forecast.

‘The drop in commercial property value across the City has left banks nursing huge losses,’ said Colin Loth, manager at Badenoch & Clark. ‘Banks are now turning their gaze to this, so high-end commercial property work is beginning to emerge.

‘The commercial property market in London has been unbelievably hard hit and there doesn’t seem to be much resurgence, but property litigation has remained relatively high. There’s an awful lot of commercial property debt out there in breach of covenant. Banks didn’t want to recognise the losses so they refinanced it, but now they need to tackle the debt.

‘London is the core of the debt problem, although commercial property prices in the regions have also been hit.’

Meanwhile, Loth reported that the amount of maternity cover required by law firms has doubled since the start of 2009, currently comprising around 60% of available vacancies. ‘In previous recessions, there tended to be a bit of a baby boom after the worst,’ he observed.