India’s next phase of growth in global services must extend beyond technology, finance and consulting to include legal expertise, institutional credibility and ideas, Dr. Lalit Bhasin, President, Society of Indian Law Firms, said at the ETLegalWorld Commercial Disputes Conclave 2026.
Delivering the Chairperson Opening Address, Bhasin argued that legal capability should not be viewed merely as a support function. As trade, capital and technology increasingly cross borders, businesses need legal systems that can support transactions, protect rights and resolve disputes with certainty.
“Legal capability therefore is not merely a support service for a modern economy. It is part of its competitive strength,” he said.
Bhasin noted that India’s global services story has traditionally been dominated by information technology, financial services and consulting, while legal services have occupied a smaller place in the conversation.
“For India, the next sector of the legal services story should include not only exporting technology and talent, but exporting legal expertise, institutional credibility and ideas,” he said.
Trust will define India’s legal competitiveness
Bhasin said every major investment and commercial relationship rests on legal frameworks, enforceable contracts and credible dispute resolution. As India expands its role in global trade and investment, the quality of its legal ecosystem will become an increasingly important component of competitiveness.He also linked the legal profession’s role to India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 ambition, arguing that government initiatives will require active support from professional communities.
“The government itself cannot achieve everything. It must rely upon the support to be given by the professions,” he said.
Bhasin stressed that becoming a global legal centre cannot be achieved through declarations alone.
“A country does not become a global legal centre because it declares itself one. It becomes one when businesses trust its lawyers, parties trust its institutions, and the world trusts the quality of the legal system,” he said.
Legislation alone cannot build credibility
Pointing to the Mediation Act, 2023, Bhasin said India has taken steps to strengthen its dispute resolution framework, including through institutional, pre-litigation, online and community mediation.
However, he cautioned that legislation can only create the framework.
“The reputation of a dispute resolution system is built case by case through the quality of its institutions, the expertise of its professionals, the conduct of counsel and the confidence of the parties in the process,” he said.
The remarks came as the fifth edition of ETLegalWorld Commercial Disputes Conclave 2026 is currently underway in New Delhi, bringing together legal professionals, policymakers, industry leaders and dispute resolution experts to discuss the evolving commercial justice ecosystem. The conclave, themed “Building Trust, Speed & Certainty in India’s Commercial Justice Ecosystem,” is examining the institutional and legal reforms needed to strengthen India’s position as a trusted destination for global business, investment and dispute resolution.
