Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Counsel, From Indian Courts to Global Seats
LawCrust runs domestic and international arbitration end to end: strategy, pleadings, evidence, and advocacy in the arbitral hearing, plus interim relief, award challenges, and enforcement before the Indian courts. We act as counsel of record where appropriate and coordinate seat-specific advocates where local rules require, while running strategy, evidence, and reporting from a single desk. Built for the cross-border disputes where an award won in one country has to be enforced in another, and where litigation finance through FundMyCase can take the cost off your balance sheet.
Scope of Work
What We Deliver Under Arbitration & Dispute Resolution.
The named, recurring work an enterprise client engages us for in this practice. Adjacent matters are common, scoped on the call.
- Dispute strategy and pre-action: settlement-or-litigation scoping, early case assessment, demand correspondence, and mediation under the Mediation Act 2023
- Domestic arbitration under the Arbitration & Conciliation Act 1996, ad hoc and institutional: MCIA, DIAC (Delhi), IIAC, IAMC, and ICA, including expedited and emergency procedures
- International commercial arbitration at SIAC, LCIA, ICC, and DIAC (Dubai), with seat-specific advocates coordinated where local rules require
- Investment-treaty arbitration support and BIT advisory, coordinated with specialist treaty counsel
- Interim relief and asset protection: Section 9 and Section 17 applications, emergency arbitrators, freezing orders, and anti-dissipation strategy
- Award challenge and defence: Section 34 setting-aside petitions and Section 37 appeals, delivered through panel advocates under our oversight
- Enforcement of foreign awards in India under Sections 47 to 49, paired with asset tracing, attachment, and execution
- ALSP-backed document review and e-discovery for heavy-evidence construction, energy, and financial disputes
- Arbitration clause design, review, and repair: seat, rules, governing law, and multi-tier clauses built for enforcement
- Litigation finance through FundMyCase on qualified, underwritten matters, for the arbitration and the enforcement that follows
Now on Android & iPhone
Legal help, in your pocket.
Book consultations, reach the SOS hotline, and track your matters from the LawCrust app. Free to download.
About the app →How we compare
The Difference Is the Operating Model, Not Just the Price.
| Dispute variable | Traditional litigation firms | Foreign-seat boutiques | The LawCrust way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Court-focused; arbitration treated as litigation by another name. | Strong at the seat, dependent on local firms for the India side. | One desk across seat strategy, hearing advocacy, and India-side enforcement. |
| Cross-border | Ad-hoc foreign-counsel coordination. | Limited India-court enforcement depth. | India-side execution coordinated with seat-specific counsel on live corridors. |
| Evidence scale | Manual, partner-led review. | Limited operational capacity. | ALSP-backed review and e-discovery for heavy-document matters. |
| Funding | Client funds the spend in full, upfront. | Cash-upfront retainers regardless of outcome. | Litigation finance via FundMyCase for qualified matters, subject to eligibility. |
| Commercial lens | Win-the-case framing. | Seat-procedure framing. | Settlement-or-fight scoped first, against the commercial outcome. |
Who it's for
The Buyer Profile.
GCs and CFOs of mid-market and large enterprises with cross-border counterparties; foreign companies enforcing arbitral awards against Indian assets; insurers and reinsurers managing claims portfolios; financial sponsors managing portfolio-company, earn-out, and warranty disputes; infrastructure, EPC, and energy players with evidence-heavy claims; and founders, family businesses, and promoters in shareholder and partnership disputes.
Regulators & Frameworks
Bodies and frameworks we operate under.
- SIAC
- LCIA
- ICC
- DIAC
- MCIA
- IIAC
- Indian High Courts
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Enterprises with Cross-Border Counterparties
GCs and CFOs managing supply, distribution, JV, and shareholder disputes across borders.
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Foreign Companies Enforcing in India
Award-holders converting a foreign arbitral award into recovery against Indian assets, and parties resisting enforcement.
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Insurers & Reinsurers
Claims-portfolio disputes, coverage arbitration, and subrogation recoveries.
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Financial Sponsors (PE / VC)
Portfolio-company disputes, shareholder and warranty claims, and post-deal earn-out and indemnity arbitration.
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Infrastructure, EPC & Energy
High-value, evidence-heavy claims, including delay, variation, termination, and FIDIC-based disputes.
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Founders, Family Businesses & Promoters
Shareholder, oppression, deadlock, and partnership disputes routed through arbitration or court.
Critical areas
Where Disputes Are Won and Lost.
The clause, written years earlier
Most disputes are shaped before they start, by a vague, split, or unenforceable arbitration clause. We review and repair clauses at the contract stage, and at the dispute stage we test the opposing clause for the same defects.
Interim relief, fast
The asset that disappears before the award is the award that never gets paid. We move early on Section 9, emergency-arbitrator, and anti-dissipation relief to freeze the position while the merits are fought.
Arbitrator appointment and challenge
Unilateral and ineligible appointments are a live and evolving battleground in Indian law. We get the tribunal constituted cleanly, and challenge the opposing appointment where it is vulnerable.
Evidence at scale
Heavy-document construction, energy, and financial disputes are won on evidence management. Our ALSP engine handles the volume that partner-led review cannot.
Parallel proceedings
Cross-border disputes often run in more than one forum at once. We manage parallel proceedings so they reinforce rather than undercut each other.
The award is not the finish line
Post-award, the fight moves to set-aside and enforcement, and after Gayatri Balasamy, to whether a court can modify rather than only set aside. We plan enforcement and the defence of the award from the start.
Enforcement against Indian assets
For foreign award-holders, the real question is recovery. We run enforcement under Part II and pair it with asset tracing and execution so the award becomes money, not paper.
Engagement & retainer models
Structured, Scoped Models Instead of Open-Ended Hourly Billing.
Enterprise Arbitration Counsel
Senior dispute counsel for a specific arbitration or court matter.
Cross-Border Dispute Desk
Standing capacity for international claims, foreign counterparties, and multi-jurisdiction enforcement.
Arbitration ALSP Desk
Managed, scalable document review and e-discovery for heavy-evidence matters.
International Enforcement Desk
Foreign-award recognition, asset tracing, and execution against Indian assets.
Retainer Dispute Counsel
Ongoing dispute advisory and risk-readiness for repeat users, paired with FundMyCase litigation finance where a claim qualifies.
How we engage
From Scoping Call to First Deliverable.
- 01
Scoping call
A 45-minute conversation to understand your matter, jurisdictions, and operating cadence. Initial calls are nominal.
- 02
Engagement letter
Scope, fees, escalation paths, and SLAs in writing within 2-5 business days.
- 03
Onboarding
Secure document handover, system access, named counsel allocated.
- 04
Delivery & reviews
Hearing-timeline drumbeat for live matters; clear written progress reporting; monthly cadence and quarterly reviews on retained portfolios.
Procurement-ready
Built to Clear Your Procurement Desk.
Committed response standard
Urgent matters, injunctions, emergency-arbitrator deadlines, and limitation cut-offs acknowledged within 2 hours via tech-driven intake; work scoped at intake against the procedural calendar.
Confidentiality & conflicts
Formal conflict checks before onboarding, executed NDAs/DPAs before substantive work, encrypted handover, and secure data environments.
Execution footprint
Court-stage advocacy delivered through panel advocates under our oversight across the Indian High Courts, BCI-compliant.
Delivery model
Arbitration strategy, pleadings, evidence, and tribunal advocacy run by LawCrust as counsel of record where appropriate; seat-specific advocates coordinated where local rules require; litigation finance through FundMyCase on qualified matters.
Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Frequently Asked
Questions buyers ask before engaging.
Which arbitral seats do you operate at?
SIAC (Singapore), LCIA (London), ICC (Paris), and DIAC (Dubai) are routine, alongside Indian-seat institutions including MCIA (Mumbai), DIAC (Delhi), IIAC (New Delhi), and IAMC (Hyderabad). We act as counsel of record where appropriate and coordinate seat-specific advocates where local representation rules require.
Can you enforce a foreign arbitral award in India?
Yes. We file enforcement applications under Part II of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act 1996 (Sections 47 to 49 for New York Convention awards), contest set-aside and resistance across the High Courts, and move into asset tracing and execution to convert the award into recovery. Court-stage advocacy is delivered through panel advocates under our oversight.
Can you fund our dispute?
On qualified, underwritten matters, FundMyCase, our litigation-finance arm, can finance the legal costs on a non-recourse basis, repaid from the recovery. We assess fit during the scoping call. Funding is subject to eligibility and a separate FundMyCase engagement.
Do you handle pre-litigation strategy and mediation?
Yes. Most disputes are scoped first as a settlement-or-litigation question. Mediation and structured negotiation under the Mediation Act 2023 are integrated where they offer a better commercial outcome than a hearing.
Should we choose an Indian seat or a foreign seat?
It depends on your contract, your counterparties, and where the assets are. Indian-seat institutional arbitration has matured significantly, and government policy now actively prefers institutional arbitration; for India-nexus contracts it is often the stronger choice on cost and enforcement. We advise on the specific clause rather than defaulting to one seat.
Can Indian courts change an arbitral award?
Since Gayatri Balasamy v ISG Novasoft (2025), Indian courts have a limited power to modify an award, confined to severable portions, clerical and computational errors, and post-award interest, in addition to setting it aside. We factor this into both challenge and enforcement strategy.
Do you support emergency arbitration and interim relief?
Yes. We run emergency-arbitrator applications and Section 9 court applications to secure assets and preserve the position before the tribunal is constituted, with court-stage applications delivered through panel advocates under our oversight.
General questions on engagement, security, and procurement live on the FAQ page.
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Read more →No fees to talk · reply within one business day
Tell Us What Your Business Needs. We'll Call You Back
Share a line or two about your matter, a counsel from the Arbitration & Dispute Resolution desk reviews it and calls you back. Confidential, and there is no charge for this conversation.
Bring Us the Arbitration & Dispute Resolution Matter.
First conversation is nominal. Engagement letter in 2-5 business days. NDAs / DPAs returned within two business days.
