Chief Legal Manager

Wheels Emi; Pune District, Lucknow; On-site; INR 2,400,000 - 4,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Wheels Emi in Pune, India, seeks a Chief Manager Legal to lead the legal function for its two-wheeler finance and refinance business, including recovery litigation, repossession, and regulatory compliance.

The role collaborates with Collections, Credit, Operations and Risk teams to ensure timely, legally compliant recovery of dues while protecting the company's interests. Strong drafting, negotiation and advocacy skills are essential.

Qualifications

• LLB from a recognised university and 8–15 years of NBFC/vehicle-finance experience.
• Experience in litigation, recovery and arbitration.
• Excellent drafting and negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage legal action against delinquent accounts and NPAs.
• Develop account-wise legal recovery strategies.
• Oversee civil, criminal and recovery proceedings.
• Coordinate with districts, high courts, consumer forums and other forums.
• Review notices, pleadings, and applications.
• Oversee repossession, resale and collateral documentation.
• Manage arbitration proceedings and external counsel.
• Ensure RBI/NBFC compliance and regulatory reporting.

Skills

Litigation strategy

Contract negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Risk management

Education

LLB

LLM

Job description

Job Description Chief Manager Legal

Designation: Chief Manager Legal

Department: Legal / Legal & Recovery

Industry: NBFC – Two-Wheeler Finance & Refinance

Reporting To: Sr. General Manager

Job Purpose

To manage and oversee the legal function for the company's two-wheeler financing and refinancing business, including recovery litigation, repossession and resale of vehicles, arbitration, consumer matters, cheque-bounce proceedings, documentation, contracts, regulatory compliance and legal risk management.

The role will work closely with Collections, Credit, Operations, Business, Risk and Compliance teams to ensure timely and legally compliant recovery of dues while protecting the company's interests.

Key Responsibilities

1. Legal Recovery & Litigation

• Manage legal action against delinquent, NPA and written-o accounts.
• Develop account-wise legal recovery strategies.
• Handle civil, criminal and recovery proceedings.
• Manage cases before District Courts, High Courts, Consumer Forums and other appropriate forums.
• Monitor litigation from filing through final disposal/execution.
• Review and approve legal notices, pleadings, replies, aidavits, applications and petitions.
• Handle execution proceedings and enforcement of decrees/awards.
• Monitor Section 138 Negotiable Instruments Act matters wherever applicable.
• Handle arbitration proceedings arising from financing agreements.

2. Two-Wheeler Repossession & Recovery

• Advise Collections/Recovery teams on legally compliant repossession of financed vehicles.
• Review repossession notices and borrower communications.
• Ensure repossession is carried out strictly in accordance with the loan agreement, company policy and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate with authorized repossession agencies and external advocates.
• Handle disputes arising from repossession.
• Advise on release, settlement and resale of repossessed vehicles.
• Review documentation relating to auction/sale of repossessed vehicles.
• For NBFC vehicle finance, RBI guidance emphasizes that loan agreements should contain legally enforceable repossession provisions and specify matters such as notice, possession procedure, final repayment opportunity and sale/auction procedure.

3. Arbitration

• Initiate and manage arbitration proceedings against defaulting borrowers where contractually appropriate.
• Vet arbitration notices and claims.
• Coordinate appointment of arbitrators and external counsel.
• Monitor interim-relief and execution proceedings.
• Track arbitration awards and recovery thereof.

4. Legal Documentation & Contracts

• Loan agreements
• Hypothecation agreements
• Refinance agreements
• Dealer/DSA agreements
• Recovery/repo agency agreements
• Vendor agreements
• NDAs and MOUs
• Settlement/OTS documents
• Indemnities and undertakings

Identify legal risks in new products and business processes.

Provide legal opinions to Business, Credit, Operations and Collections.

5. Regulatory & Compliance

• Advise management on applicable RBI/NBFC regulations and legal requirements.
• Ensure legal processes are aligned with the company's Fair Practices Code and internal policies.
• Support regulatory inspections, audits and compliance reviews.
• Monitor changes in laws, regulations and important judicial decisions aecting vehicle finance.
• Coordinate with Compliance and Risk teams on legal-risk issues.

6. Advocate & External Counsel Management

• Empanel and manage advocates/law firms.
• Allocate cases and monitor advocate performance.
• Review legal opinions and pleadings submitted by external counsel.
• Monitor hearing dates, filing deadlines and case progress.
• Control legal expenses and ensure appropriate billing.
• Conduct periodic performance reviews of empaneled advocates.

7. Fraud & Field Legal Matters

• Advise on suspected fraud, document forgery and misrepresentation cases.
• Coordinate with Collections, Fraud Control and Operations teams.
• Assist with police complaints and criminal proceedings wherever legally appropriate.
• Advise on cases involving vehicle theft, forged documents, fraudulent transfer/sale of financed vehicles and unauthorized disposal of hypothecated vehicles.

8. MIS & Management Reporting

• Maintain litigation and recovery MIS.
• Track: Number of legal cases
• Recovery achieved through legal action
• Arbitration cases
• Section 138 cases
• Repossession disputes
• Pending hearings
• Execution matters
• Legal expenses
• Ageing of litigation

Prepare periodic reports for senior management.

Key Laws / Areas of Knowledge

• RBI Act / RBI directions applicable to NBFCs
• Contract Act
• Arbitration & Conciliation Act
• Negotiable Instruments Act
• Code of Civil Procedure
• Consumer Protection Act
• Motor Vehicles Act
• SARFAESI Act, wherever applicable to the company's assets/products
• Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, where relevant
• Information Technology/data-protection requirements relevant to lending
• State-specific laws aecting recovery and repossession
• Applicable criminal law provisions
• Registration, hypothecation and vehicle-transfer requirements

Vehicle-finance legal functions also commonly involve arbitration, consumer litigation, recovery proceedings and coordination with external advocates. KKatcheri.in+1

Key Internal Stakeholders

• Collections & Recovery
• Credit
• Risk
• Compliance
• Operations
• Business/Sales
• Finance
• Fraud Control
• Audit
• Senior Management

Key External Stakeholders

• External Advocates / Law Firms
• Arbitrators
• Courts and Tribunals
• Police Authorities
• RTO/Transport Authorities
• Repossession Agencies
• Auction Agencies
• Customers/Borrowers
• Regulatory Authorities

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Legal recovery from NPA/write-o portfolio
• Reduction in ageing of litigation
• Timely initiation of legal action
• Arbitration resolution and execution
• Successful resolution of repossession disputes
• Legal cost control
• Advocate performance
• Compliance with internal legal processes
• Turnaround time for legal opinions/contracts
• Reduction in legal risk and adverse orders

Candidate Profile

Essential:

• LLB from a recognised university.
• 8–15 years of legal experience, preferably in NBFC/bank/vehicle-finance/autofinance.
• Strong litigation and recovery experience.
• Excellent drafting and negotiation skills.
• Experience managing external advocates and legal vendors.
• Ability to work closely with Collections and Business teams.

Preferred:

• Experience specifically in two-wheeler/auto finance.
• Experience in arbitration and recovery proceedings.
• Experience handling repossession and resale disputes.
• Experience managing a regional/national legal portfolio.
• LLM or relevant additional qualification.

One-line JD

Responsible for managing the end-to-end legal function of the two-wheeler finance and refinance business, including recovery litigation, arbitration, repossession, documentation, contracts, advocate management, regulatory compliance and legal risk mitigation, with a focus on timely and cost-eective recovery while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and RBI/NBFC regulations.