Global Arbitration Review(GAR 100), a leading London-based publication on international arbitration, released a list this week of the top 100 arbitration practices in the world in its 2009 edition.

The GAR 100 is a globally available guide on international arbitration capabilities, and is based on a detailed research and audit process.

The research process for the 2009 edition covered a two-year period from September 2006 to September 2008.

Industry observers say Rajah & Tann's placing in a select list alongside US and British-based global heavyweights is a boost to Singapore's rising profile as a regional and international arbitration hub.

Rajah & Tann also became the first Asian law firm to break into the GAR 30, a listing of top 30 arbitration practices in the world. It was ranked 25th based on objective data such as work volume, hearings done and portfolio value supplied by all the leading law firms worldwide.

The GAR said Rajah & Tann was singled out because, among other things, all senior staff trained within a larger international arbitration group (Jones Day). Another factor: it has close and deepening ties with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, a body set up in 1991 to arbitrate on international disputes.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.