The Law is what it is - a majestic edifice, sheltering all of us, each stone of which rests on another. - JOHN GALSWORTHY

  INDIA: THE COMMON LAW ADVANTAGE
The common law forms a major part of the legal system of many countries, especially those which had been British territories or colonies. It is notable for its inclusion of extensive non-statutory law, reflecting a consensus of centuries of judgements by working jurists.

As in the United States, the Indian legal system has a common law foundation. The British introduced the English common law system in India and the courts observed this system of law except where indigenous Indian law was more appropriate, as in the case of family law and the law of succession. The concepts and procedures have been broadly followed during the post-Independence era and resemble those of other Anglo-Saxon countries.

The common law constitutes the basis of the legal systems of England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the states of the United States (except Louisiana), Canada (except Quebec civil law), Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and many other generally English-speaking countries or Commonwealth countries.

As more and more law firms and corporate houses outsource their legal work to offshore countries, India emerges as the chosen destination of the global giants. With a long history of association with the English-speaking world, the country boasts a wealth of highly qualified English-speaking workers and legal professionals well versed in common law. Indian law firms and legal support service providers are, therefore, truly capable of delivering high quality work and ensuring significant cost savings.

While in-house lawyers of overseas principals concentrate on hardcore legal work, Indian businesses catering to overseas law firms and corporate legal departments provide a whole range of support services such as legal transcription; digital dictation; conversion of physical data into electronic formats; document indexing; coding; drafting; reviewing transactional and litigation documents; researching memoranda and due diligence reports; prosecuting patents; surveying laws of various jurisdictions; and creating & updating legal records databases.

  CORE VALUES THAT BENEFIT
  Training in Common Law
Common law education began in India in 1857, when three universities with Law Departments were established in Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai. In 1961, the Parliament of India passed the Advocates Act, which amended and consolidated the law governing the Indian legal profession. The Act provided for the establishment of an all-India statutory body called The Bar Council of India.

The Bar Council was made responsible for recognizing universities whose degree in law would be qualification for a graduate's enrolment as an advocate - a lawyer qualified to practice law in all courts and tribunals. In 1965, the Bar Council of India introduced stringent legal education standards. Today, legal studies in India cover a wide range of commercial, procedural, corporate, and financial laws. The medium of education is English, with most of the laws rooted in English common law.

Indian lawyers have in-depth knowledge of the common law system followed in the USA, UK, and many other Anglo-Saxon countries. Most of them have good credentials and many come with US/UK law degrees and good work experience. Indian lawyers and paralegals are proficient in the US/UK law in general, as well as various court systems, legal applications, reasoning, research, and documentation of relevant facts required for a lawsuit. Powered by sound professional training, the workforce in India is, therefore, competent enough to meet the requirements of US/UK law firms/businesses.

  Cost Competitive Services
From efficient legal support services to in-depth research, transcription, and document management - the entire range of outsourced functions ensures significant cost savings, as outsourcing to LexSphere ensures "cost-competitive" fees compared to those charged in the USA or UK. This, in turn, will boost the profitability of overseas law firms and corporate legal departments, and ultimately enable them to lower legal fees to benefit their clients. In addition to routine back-office jobs, companies abroad may also outsource high-end legal work to India in order to focus more on core competencies and enhance business horizon.

  Total Security & Effective Risk Management
Backed by international-standard technology and telecommunications infrastructure, Indian service providers can easily ensure confidentiality, secrecy, and data protection.