Lawyers drop anchor in London as mediation grows

As many as 5,000 international arbitrations and mediations were carried out in London last year as the capital's popularity as a forum for dispute resolution grows, it was estimated this week.

International Financial Services London - the body that promotes UK financial services abroad - said there were around 500 ad hoc mediations in 2002, while the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution handled 411 commercial mediations.

More than half of the cases (2,686) were handled by the London Maritime Arbitrators Association.

In a report on the UK's international financial markets, it said there are now some 50 organisations which provide dispute resolution services.

Maritime legal work was found to be a major source of overseas income for the UK, with law firms achieving net exports of 150 million, second only to that of the Baltic Exchange and shipbrokers.

The report also revealed that of the 2,489 solicitors based abroad, 522 (21%) are in Hong Kong.

France is the next most popular location (163), followed close behind by Singapore (160) and then Belgium (109) and the US (108).

Other jurisdictions with a notable solicitor presence are Germany (90), Japan (87), United Arab Emirates (63), Channel Islands (39), Netherlands (37) and Spain (30).