Associate Director Legal

Aquis Search; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquis Search has partnered with a global financial services analytics firm for an Associate Director Legal in Mumbai. The role leads client and vendor contract negotiations, supports business growth, and partners with sales and business teams to balance commercial objectives with risk management.

The candidate will serve as the primary legal partner for a business line, driving negotiations with global clients and suppliers while enabling structured legal operations and IPR management.

Qualifications

• Experience in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating client contracts, MSAs, SOWs, and related agreements.
• Lead client calls and negotiations, coordinating with cross-functional teams.
• Support IP management and legal operations processes to improve efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end client contracting lifecycle, from drafting to closure.
• Negotiate and manage contracts with clients and vendors.
• Structure deals with risk assessment and practical business solutions.
• Maintain contract repository and track renewals and key terms.
• Liaise with external counsel and senior leadership on disputes or high-risk matters.

Skills

Client contracting

Contract negotiations

IPR management

Legal operations

Stakeholder management

Communication

Attention to detail

Education

LLB

Tools

CLM tools

Job description

Aquis Search has partnered with a global financial services analytics firm in their search for an Associate Director Legal in Mumbai. We are seeking an experienced lawyer with commercial contracting experience to lead client and vendor contract negotiations, support strategic business growth, and partner closely with sales and business teams.

The successful candidate will serve as the primary legal partner for a business line, driving negotiations with global clients and vendors while balancing commercial objectives with risk management considerations.

The role requires someone who can operate independently, engage confidently with clients and internal stakeholders. This role has the opportunity to support IPR management and other shared legal operational processes to bring structure and efficiency to the legal function.

Key Responsibilities

1. Client Contracting & Business Support

• Own the end-to-end client contracting lifecycle — drafting, reviewing, and negotiating client contracts, MSAs, SOWs, and related commercial agreements.
• Lead client calls and negotiations directly, managing legal discussions with clients through to closure.
• Partner with business teams to structure deals, identify legal/commercial risks, and provide practical, business-friendly solutions.
• Handle the legal aspects of the business relationship end-to-end, acting as the single point of contact for client-facing legal matters.
• Track contract status, renewals, and key commercial terms, and maintain a robust contract repository.
• Negotiate and manage contracts with technology vendors, data providers, consulting firms, outsourcing partners, and other strategic suppliers.
• Ensure appropriate contractual protections around service levels, information security, data protection, intellectual property, and business continuity.

3. Process and Governance

• Support continuous improvement of contracting processes, templates, clause libraries, and playbooks.
• Contribute to standardization initiatives that improve contracting speed and consistency.
• Assist in developing negotiation guidelines and commercial contracting best practices.

4. General Legal Advisory

• Provide day-to-day legal advisory support to business and functional teams.
• Escalate and manage disputes or high-risk matters in coordination with senior leadership/external counsel as needed.

5. Experience in the following will be an added advantage

• Drive the rollout, implementation, and adoption of legal operations/contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools across the organisation.
• Define workflows, templates, playbooks, and approval matrices within the legal ops tool to improve turnaround time and consistency.
• Train internal stakeholders and business teams on the use of the legal ops tool.
• Track and report on legal function metrics (turnaround time, contract volumes, risk flags) using the tool.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve legal processes through technology and automation.
• Liaise with external IP counsel/agents on filings, prosecution, renewals, and oppositions.
• Experience in commercial contracting, contract negotiations, legal-commercial advisory, or deal support.
• Significant experience negotiating contracts with global BFSI clients.
• Strong exposure to knowledge services, financial information, market intelligence, consulting, research, analytics, SaaS, fintech, or technology sectors.
• Hands-on experience with IPR filing and management (trademarks/patents/copyrights).
• Experience with legal operations or CLM tools (implementation, rollout, or super-user experience preferred).
• Ability to work independently and manage the entire legal function for a business/client relationship.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and interpersonal skills.
• High attention to detail, strong ownership mindset, and comfort operating in a fast-paced environment.

Education: LLB from a recognized university.