London’s legal tourists

History at every turn, breathtaking architecture providing an iconic skyline, renowned shops, hotels and attractions, a global centre of finance and creativity. London has it all. And now, it seems, an additional string to its bow. London’s reputation for excellence in law sees it elevated to the status of litigation capital of the world.

That the UK capital has become the venue for a legal row between Premiership football club owner, Roman Abramovich, and fellow Russian tycoon and political exile, Boris Berezovsky, is no surprise to regulars at the High Court. Mr Berezovsky, who is suing his former friend for damages of more than £3bn, is just the latest in a string of high-profile foreign litigants coming to London to secure high-priced British legal expertise to resolve their disputes.

To match the paparazzi’s flash photography of the oligarchs in question, is the location, the equally flash, state-of-the-art Rolls Building. The largest specialist centre for the resolution of financial, business and property litigation anywhere in the world is an appropriate venue for one of the UK’s largest private litigation claims. So just why does London attract legal 'tourists'?

Many state that the thing they admire most about this country is our legal system and the quality of our judiciary. It is estimated that foreign nationals spend around £200m each year on highly skilled UK legal services, which are described by Timothy Dutton QC as one of the country’s great exports. This has a significant impact on the economy and also enhances the capital’s reputation.

There are also the generous libel settlements and the ability to recover costs which attract many combatants to London, in preference to the US courts, which have a narrower interpretation of laws such as libel. Mr Berezovsky’s battle with Mr Abramovich is not the first time he has used the British courts; in 2003 he sued Forbes magazine, a title run from New York.

But the courts are not only for Russian tycoons. They are open to anyone who wishes to soak up the great tradition and rich history of the Victorian edifice that is the Royal Courts of Justice. And now, just a stone’s throw away at the Rolls Building, for those who want the facilities and convenience which modern litigants expect.

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