Legal Manager

Role Summary:

We are looking for a proactive and detail-oriented Legal Manager to oversee legal and compliance matters within our retail operations. The ideal candidate will provide strategic legal support across commercial, real estate, consumer, employment, and regulatory domains, ensuring legal compliance and minimizing risk while enabling business growth.

Key Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts including vendor, lease, franchise, and service agreements.
• Advise on legal aspects of retail operations—consumer laws, advertising, e-commerce, and promotions.
• Draft, review and negotiate agreements and other legal documents, including vendor contracts, retainer contracts, non-disclosure agreements, letters to banks or governmental organisations, etc., to ensure that they (a) are compliant with all applicable laws, (b) incorporate all internal policy requirements and (c) take care of the organisation's interests.
• To Organize, manage and control activities related to IP Management: Patent/Trade Mark/Design /Copyright/ searches, drafting, Filing and responses.
• Handle legal issues related to store expansion, leasing, and real estate disputes.
• Support HR with employment law matters, workplace policies, and dispute resolution.
• Ensure compliance with laws relating to consumer rights, data protection, FSSAI, local trade licenses, GST, etc.
• Assist the management in identifying the legal risks and unwarranted encumbrances/limitations rooting in a proposed plan of action.
• Manage the New Store Opening process (NSO).
• Draft and provide timely replies to legal notices.
• Work closely and effectively with business teams, and other user functions to provide them legal support and assist them in finalizing routine legal documents to ensure alignment with organizational objectives and risk mitigation.
• Manage litigation, notices, and coordinate with external counsel.
• Identify potential legal risks and assist in developing mitigation strategies in commercial transactions and business
• Work on implementing contract management processes within and outside our CLM platform.
• Be the local liaison for and deal with external legal counsels, secretarial teams, and other legal consultants, and be the conduit between the organisation and external legal counsels/legal consultants, keeping in mind that in playing this part, the organisation's best interests shall be taken care of.
• Monitor and assist with ensuring compliance with various statutes applicable to the organisation.
• Liaise and/or deal with Government and quasi-Government departments, courts, tribunals, etc. as and where required.
• Work with external legal counsels on litigation and arbitration matters, if/as and when they arise.
• Coordinate with external legal consultants/advocates/law firms on various legal matters.
• Monitor changes in laws and regulations affecting the retail sector.
• Conduct training and develop internal legal policies to reduce operational risk.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB); LLM is an advantage.
• 5–8 years of relevant legal experience, preferably in the retail/FMCG/e-commerce sector.
• Strong knowledge of contract law, labour law, consumer protection, and retail regulations.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Ability to balance legal risks with business priorities.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with retail leasing, franchise agreements, and POS compliance.
• Familiarity with regulatory bodies like FSSAI, Legal Metrology, and consumer courts.