Top City trio step up services cyber-battle.ONLINE COMPETITION: City firms announce services for arbitration, derivatives, and legislation.Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance have stepped up the on-line battle between the top practices with the launch of a range ofservices.

The latest addition to Linklaters' ever expanding raft of on-lineservices, Dispute Toolkit, is aimed at helping clients deal with arbitration and litigation disputes.

While the service is free, clients are charged when using the firm's Blue Flag branded on-line legal service.

Aimed primarily at in-house lawyers, Dispute Toolkit provides precedent arbitration, jurisdiction and alternative dispute resolution clauses for use in commercial contracts.

Guidance on the advantages and disadvantages of using the clauses is also given.

The site provides users with descriptions of relevant arbitration law and information on costs and the approach of local arbitrators in the ten countries where the firm has offices.

These are: Belgium, the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Singapore.There is also information on the main arbitration bodies and links to more than 100 external related sites.Stephen Cromie, a partner involved in developing the site, said the firm was looking to be instructed to do 'top-end' work, and charge for it.

'If relatively straightforward work of this kind, which can be commoditised, makes the life of in-house lawyers easier; that's all we areaiming for.'Allen & Overy announced a strategic e-commerce alliance with on-line derivatives service provider, Cygnifi, through its new Trinity legal network.Allen & Overy will join other law firms providing legal memoranda - summaries of statute and practice in relevant jurisdictions - for companies dealing in derivatives.

The firm has also worked with Cygnifi to develop commercial templates for executing collateralised derivatives.

Of the 21 jurisdictions covered, Allen & Overy has responsibility for the UK, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Allen & Overy associate, Julie Spencer, said the alliance provided the firm with an income stream for its derivatives know-how and an opportunity for cross-marketing where parties needed specific deal advice.

The firm is also working to develop a Web-based product dealing with derivatives law through its 'newchange' on-line range of legal services.

Clifford Chance has launched Public Policy Online, which includes what the firm said is the first ever central register of consultation exercises and draft legislation in the UK and EU.

'We are offering early warning and easy access to what the politicians and officials are up to,' said Richard Thomas, Clifford Chance's director of public policy.

'Tomorrow's law can be a real threat to today's business plans.'Sue Allen