• Today, the legal field has undergone a drastic transformation. The traditional practices that were followed in courts have now been replaced by new and sophisticated practices. So much so that even documentation part has become modern owing to the acceptance of soft copies, emails and so instead of hard copies only on being accepted as documentary evidence.
• Simply put, this field of litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution services have become more organized and systematic. In the present scenario, even court procedures, as well as other dispute resolutions, have changed drastically. 

Let us now understand one by one litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution services provided by legal professionals and the scope of work of each.

Litigation is regarded as the traditional way of dispute resolution. In such cases, attorneys or legal counsels perform the following work:

• Providing sound and fair legal advice on the strategy to be adopted, if the litigation is ongoing one then providing advice on the way forward. If there is any chance of potential litigation, then advising that accordingly to the client;
• Drafting of plaints, written statements, suits, writ petitions, appeals, legal notices etc;
• Representing clients whether individuals or corporate before different Courts, tribunals, and such other judicial as well as quasi-judicial bodies and forum.

Arbitration is one of the desirable forms of dispute resolution especially for the corporate sector who don’t want to go in for the long, time-consuming litigation procedures. In case of arbitration and other forms of alternate dispute resolutions, the legal counsels have to perform the following functions:

• Arbitration proceedings involve appointment of arbitrator/s and representing clients in arbitration proceedings;
• Conciliation: Assisting and providing guidance to clients and helping them arrive at an amicable solution which will be favorable to both the parties;
• Mediation: helping the disputing parties in appointing a mediator, defining and following the strategy to be followed; representing clients in the mediation process; in the case of corporate clients, counsels also help in integrating mediation within the organization as a means of settlement of disputes.   

Legal Counsels dealing in the area of Litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution services practice in diverse areas of law which include:

• Bank and Finance Disputes;
• Real estate and Property disputes;
• Competition and Antitrust disputes;
• Intellectual Property Disputes;
• Contractual disputes;
• Construction related disputes;
• Health and Safety related disputes;
• Employment and Labour disputes;
• Energy and Environmental Disputes;
• Domestic and/or International Arbitration; and so on

Considering the wide horizon of areas they have to deal with one day to day basis, the legal counsels engaged in Litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution services have to not only be experts in diverse areas of law but also have to understand the nature of practices that are industry specific. So these professionals have to be well prepared and well read to put forth the case of their client strongly.