Globalization, lawyers and India: Toward a theoretical synthesis of globalization studies and the sociology of the legal profession

Abstract

Despite the importance of globalization for Indian lawyers, there have been surprisingly few attempts to integrate the rich scholarship on the processes of globalization with the sociology of the Indian legal profession, and to conceptualize and explain major recent legal developments in India in this context. This article uses three globalization processes - economic globalization, globalization of knowledge and globalization of governance - as lenses for analyzing the Indian legal profession. It argues that understanding these processes and their intersections can help frame a much-needed empirical investigation into the globalization of the legal profession in India, and possibly in other major emerging economies. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.