Job Description
**Job Description: Area Legal Manager – NBFC Position Title: Area Legal Manager Location: Hyderabad Department: Collections - Retail Litigation Reporting To: Regional Legal Manager Role Purpose** The Area Legal Manager will be responsible for managing all legal activities for the assigned geography, including litigation management, collections-related legal actions, contract vetting, regulatory compliance support, and coordination with external law firms. The role ensures legal risk mitigation while supporting business growth across secured and unsecured lending products.
**Key Responsibilities 1. Litigation \& Legal Recovery**
- Manage end-to-end litigation for retail, SME, and corporate loan portfolios.
- Oversee filing, tracking, and closure of legal cases under:
+ Section 138 (Cheque Bounce) + Arbitration + Sec 9/ Sec 17 proceedings + SARFAESI actions (where applicable) + Civil suits \& criminal complaints
- Coordinate with external advocates for case strategy, court appearances, and timely filings.
- Review and approve legal notices, replies, and case drafts.
- Ensure timely execution of decrees, awards, and recovery orders.
**2. Collections Legal Support**
- Identify accounts requiring legal intervention in coordination with Collections and Business teams.
- Drive legal recoveries by initiating and monitoring:
+ Demand notices + Pre-litigation processes + Property possession and auction (for secured loans)
- Provide legal opinion on complex delinquent cases.
**3. Documentation \& Contract Management**
- Vet and finalize loan-related documents, agreements, vendor contracts, and renewal documents.
- Support business in rolling out updated documentation aligned with regulatory changes.
- Conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance of branch-level documentation.
**4. Regulatory \& Compliance Support**
- Monitor changes in NBFC regulatory framework and support internal implementation.
- Ensure legal processes comply with RBI guidelines, Arbitration Act, IBC, NI Act, and other relevant laws.
- Assist in internal and external audits from a legal standpoint.
**5. Vendor \& Advocate Management**
- Empanel, evaluate, and monitor performance of external advocates and legal vendors.
- Ensure adherence to cost, quality, and compliance parameters.
- Negotiate and manage professional fee structures.
**6. Stakeholder Management**
- Work closely with Business, Credit, Collections, Risk, Operations, and Compliance teams.
- Provide legal opinions for business expansion, new products, major NPAs, and policy-level decisions.
- Conduct training for internal teams on legal processes and documentation.
**Qualifications \& Experience**
- Education: LL.B or LL.M from a recognized university.
- Experience: 5–10 years of experience in legal functions within NBFC, Banking, or Financial Services.
- Strong experience handling litigation, arbitration, SARFAESI, and collection legal processes.
- Exposure to secured and unsecured lending portfolios preferred.