Legal services 'more important' following recession

Legal services may be more important in the wake of the global economic crisis, as a new report shows arbitration and mediation in the UK have risen "dramatically" since 2008.

Entitled Dispute Resolution in London and the UK 2010, it was released on Monday (September 20th) by TheCityUK's legal services and dispute resolution group, revealing a 78 per cent increase on the total number of conflicts solved via this medium between 2007 and 2009, legalweek.com reports.

Greater need for legal services might be a result of downsizing or re-evaluation of priorities, which could create rifts within businesses and professional relationships.

Group chair Khawar Qureshi QC observed: "The data in the report shows that the alternative dispute resolution sector has grown significantly in the aftermath of the financial crisis."

On a smaller scale legal services can also be important, as studies show the number of cases of unfair dismissal have also multiplied in the two years since the recession.