Senior Legal Counsel

About The Role

We are seeking a driven and detail-oriented Legal Manager to join our Legal & Compliance team. This is a mid-senior level role with end-to-end ownership of legal operations in the NBFC business.

The incumbent will be responsible for end-to-end contract lifecycle management, providing timely legal counsel on legal & regulatory risks to business and operations teams, and advising on litigation strategy – from initiation of recovery proceedings to resolution through courts, tribunals, consumer forums, arbitral tribunal, IBC/DRT mechanisms. This role sits at the intersection of business enablement and legal risk management and requires independent ownership of the legal function, strong stakeholder management, and the ability to balance legal rigour with business pragmatism.

Key Responsibilities

• Contract Management & Closures
• Draft, review, negotiate, and finalise all contracts, agreements, and legal instruments relevant to the NBFC business:
• Commercial contracts, including Loan Agreements & Facility Letters
• Co-lending / Lending Service Provider (LSP) Agreements
• Business Correspondent (BC) Agreements
• Vendor, Fintech Partnership & Technology & SaaS Agreements
• Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and MOUs
• Collection Agency & Recovery Service Agreements
• Maintain and manage a contract repository.
• Work closely with Business, Operations, and Finance teams to ensure contracts align with commercial intent while mitigating legal risk.
• Advise business teams on contractual risks, liability exposure, indemnity structures, limitation of liability clauses, and termination rights.
• Standardise contract templates, build a playbook and fallback positions for recurring contract types .
• Lead contract lifecycle management (CLM) initiatives and drive adoption of legal technology tools Review and advise on product terms and conditions, MITC (Most Important Terms & Conditions), Key Fact Statements (KFS) as required under RBI guidelines.
• Legal Advisory
• Serve as the primary internal legal counsel on all matters relating to NBFC regulations – advising on existing product terms and conditions, Most Important Terms & Conditions (MITC), Key Fact Statements (KFS), product design, new business lines, credit policies, collections frameworks, and regulatory compliance.
• Provide legal opinions on RBI regulations applicable to NBFC-ML, including:
• Master Direction – Non-Banking Financial Companies (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016
• Fair Practices Code (FPC) requirements
• RBI Digital Lending Guidelines
• NBFC Scale-Based Regulation (SBR) – Middle Layer obligations
• SARFAESI Act applicability
• Proactively monitor legal & regulatory developments to assess business impact and advise on compliance measures.
• Advise on data protection obligations under the DPDPA 2023, payment systems regulation under the PSS Act, 2007, Credit Information Companies (CIC) regulations, and grievance redressal obligations.
• Support the Compliance team on regulatory submissions, audit responses, and inspection-related queries from RBI / statutory auditors.
• Review marketing materials, communications, and product disclosures from a legal & regulatory lens.
• Litigation & Dispute Resolution (Non-Payment / Recovery)
• Own and manage the end-to-end litigation strategy – civil, commercial, recovery proceedings, consumer disputes, and regulatory proceedings – across various forums for recovery of unsecured loan defaults:
• Civil suits under CPC (Order XXXVII – Summary Suits for recovery)
• Execution petitions post-decree
• Criminal complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (NI Act) for cheque dishonour
• Insolvency proceedings under IBC where applicable
• Instruct, brief, and coordinate with external counsel, manage panel law firms/advocates, legal process outsourcing (LPO) vendors, and collection-litigation firms across jurisdictions.
• Develop and oversee dispute resolution strategies, including negotiated settlements, mediation/conciliation, and arbitration.
• Advise on pre-litigation risk assessment & strategy and implement early dispute resolution mechanisms to contain litigation risk.
• Establish and monitor litigation trackers, case management dashboards, and reporting MIS on litigation exposure and contingent liabilities .
  
  

Oversee filing of bulk cases efficiently through technology-enabled legal workflows.

• Cross-functional & Leadership
• Act as a legal partner to the business, credit, operations, finance, and compliance teams.
• Provide legal training and awareness sessions to internal stakeholders on relevant laws and contract risksSupport M&A, fundraising, and participate in due diligence exercises for partnerships, technology integrations.
  
  

Experience

Educational Experience

LLB / LLM from a recognised institution (NLU, Tier-1 law school, or equivalent preferred) [AT1]

Total Experience

6 – 8 years [AT2] of post-qualification experience, with at least 3–4 years in a regulated financial services entity / NBFC / HFC / banking / fintech legal role either in-house or in a law firm

Experience (Essential)

• Strong working knowledge of RBI regulations, NBFC frameworks, and Indian financial sector laws.
• Demonstrated experience in independently negotiating and closing complex commercial contracts.
• Proven track record in managing litigation portfolios and instructing external counsel.
• Working knowledge of Indian corporate law, contract law, data privacy law and consumer protection laws.
  
  

Experience (Desired / Preferable)

• Exposure to digital lending regulations, account aggregator framework, or payment systems.
• Experience supporting fundraising rounds, equity transactions, or debt capital market activities.
  
  

[AT1] Suggested only if it meets the budgetary threshold.

[AT2] Is 6-8 yrs the appropriate experience level required for this role? Looking at the desired expectation should we be looking for someone with experience of around 8-10 years?

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