London to become legal hub

• With its pre-eminent status as a global financial centre under threat from emerging Asian rivals, London has set its sights on becoming an international legal hub, a one-stop shop for well-heeled litigants from around the world.
• The hype has already begun ahead of the launch in the next few weeks of a £300 million ultra-modern court complex in the heart of central London, not ironically far from where Charles Dickens launched his most withering attack on the then British justice system in Bleak House.
• The Queen is expected to inaugurate what is being billed as the "biggest business court in the world'' providing a full range of legal services to those with deep pockets. The new "super court'', equipped with state-of-the art facilities, will operate from a glittering glass-and-stone structure, the Rolls Building, to rival the imposing skyscrapers of the City, London's famous financial district across the Thames.
• "The Rolls Building is the physical embodiment of London and the U.K.'s commitment to provide a modern court service. Its rivals will be New York, Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore; the French and German justice ministries have also just produced a glossy brochure together," said the Guardian. The government, it said, hoped that it would attract "high-profile business disputes''. According to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, the project is aimed at providing Britain's modern, high-quality legal services at the global level.
• Critics could not resist a dig at the project pointing out that the government was rolling out a "Rolls Royce'' facility for the rich while taking away free legal aid for its own people as part of cuts to public spending. More than 100 magistrates and county courts are set to close to save money.