Mark Lanier’s plaintiff’s firm is expanding operations into London. As described in the media, the firm is establishing an arbitration practice. Here is the firm’s press release and here is a law.com article.
The press release does not say this but one can envision that this effort has larger goals than simply handling some commerical cases. Instead, one can see this move as following a model set by others. That is, branch out to a new market using a product that will pay for itself more quickly than does tort litigation. That is, business litigation for hourly and/or contingent fees usually follows a time line that is shorter than the timeline for tort litigation. At the same time, that business litigation platform provides a basis for developing local skills and contacts that will be exploitable as the market for tort litigation evolves and expands over time.