Job Description:
Research Fellow (Legal)
Reporting to: Senior Fellow (day-to-day), Deputy Director – Research and Programs
Vertical: Dispute Resolution
Location: New Delhi
Employment type: Full-time
Compensation: Competitive, commensurate with experience
Role overview
The Research Fellow (Legal) will support the Arbitration Policy Research initiative through foundational legal and policy research, drafting support, and issue tracking. The role is ideal for an early-career lawyer or researcher interested in arbitration reform, public-sector disputes, and evidence-based policy work.
This is a research-intensive position with exposure to how legal analysis feeds into institutional reform conversations.
Key responsibilities
Legal and policy research
- Conduct doctrinal research on arbitration law, enforcement jurisprudence, and institutional rules.
- Track developments relevant to PSU arbitration, enforcement delays, and institutional arbitration.
Prepare research memoranda, case-law analyses, literature reviews, and briefing notes.
Drafting and publication support
Assist in drafting policy papers, consultation responses, issue briefs, and presentations.
Support the Senior Fellow in refining arguments, citations, and recommendations.
Ensure consistency, accuracy, and clarity across written outputs.
Contribute to TrustBridge publications under supervision, including co-authored outputs.
Consultations and convenings support
Prepare background notes and briefing materials for stakeholder meetings and roundtables.
Assist with synthesis of discussions and incorporation of feedback into research outputs.
Research operations
Maintain research trackers, case databases, and citation systems.
Support any empirical components, such as judgment coding or data collation, as required.
Manage version control and internal documentation.
Qualifications
Required
Law degree (LLB/JD or equivalent).
0-2 years of relevant experience.
- Strong legal research and writing skills, with the ability to distil complex material into clear analysis.
- At least one substantial writing or publication sample (published or unpublished) demonstrating research and analytical ability.
High attention to detail and ability to manage multiple research tasks.
Preferred
Masters/ Ph.D.
Exposure to arbitration practice, PSU disputes, or institutional arbitration.
Prior publications, blog posts, policy notes, or long-form research writing.
Comfort with structured research tools and basic data handling.
Core competencies
Precision in research and writing
Intellectual curiosity paired with discipline
Reliability and follow-through
Ability to work independently while contributing to a team
Applicants should include links or copies of relevant publications or writing samples with their application.
Tentative date of joining: 20th March 2026
About TrustBridge Rule of Law Foundation
Our evidence-based research focuses on understanding the underlying causes of our economic policy and attendant rule of law challenges. This approach is necessarily interdisciplinary, integrating legal analysis, economic evaluation and data-driven research, through which we seek to develop actionable solutions rooted in transparency and practicality.
Our work examines the structural drivers of government litigation in India and develops institutional solutions to reduce avoidable disputes. As one of the largest litigants in the countrys courts, the government expends significant public resources on litigation, imposes costs on private counterparties, and contributes to systemic delays that affect the broader justice system.
We focus on two interrelated areas.
First, we analyse the design of government contracts to identify weaknesses in risk allocation, incentive structures, and procedural fairness that deter private sector participation and generate disputes. Our approach studies the full life cycle of public contracts, from tender design and execution to dispute escalation and enforcement, to identify points where better design can prevent conflict.
Second, we examine the role of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and broader dispute governance frameworks within government entities. While well-designed ADR mechanisms can reduce court burdens and improve commercial certainty, their effectiveness depends on institutional design, implementation capacity, and internal decision-making incentives. Our work evaluates how these systems can be strengthened to reduce unnecessary litigation and improve state capacity.