By Chris Morris
BBC News, Delhi

When you think of out-sourcing to India, you tend to think of call centers and credit card help-lines and rows and rows of young people at computer terminals, carrying out the back office work of banks and financial institutions. But the outsourcing industry is changing.

It's becoming more sophisticated and is attracting more people with the very best educational qualifications, including those in the legal profession. "In my final year of law school I made up my mind," says Divya Kohli, manager of legal support services at CPA India, one of the biggest legal out-sourcing companies in the country.

"I wanted to go into a new industry which had a lot of opportunities for a young lawyer.

Recession benefit:

Tens of thousands of lawyers graduate in India every year and an increasing number are now taking on work from around the world, as companies look to cut costs wherever they can.

"Yes, we expect to benefit from the recession," says Matthew Banks who works in Mumbai for Integreon, a company engaged by the British legal firm Clifford Chance to help set up facilities in India.

Mr. Banks says more and more legal work will be pushed in India's direction as bad economic news in Europe and the United States begins to bite. Legal work can be done here for a fraction of the cost.

"But," he adds, "no matter how much money (companies) may be saving, even if they're going to save 50%, it's going to be a false economy if the work isn't up to scratch.

"So quality is critical and the interest of global companies and legal firms suggests that - most of the time - the quality is first class.

That's partly because out-sourcing companies offer young Indian law graduates more money than they could earn working for a traditional law firm.

Even so, at the law campus of Delhi University students are split on whether it's a good career move.

"They pay you well," says one, "but the work is quite monotonous."

"I think it's going to take off very well in India," says another. "We're pretty good at providing services."