Head of Legal & CS

Acme Services Private Limited; Mumbai; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 6,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Acme Services Private Limited is seeking a senior in-house legal and secretarial leader to drive legal strategy, governance, and compliance across the organization. The role includes Board support, drafting and negotiating critical agreements, and managing real estate diligence for expansion.

You will oversee litigation, IP matters, regulatory filings, and risk management while mentoring the in-house team and coordinating with cross-functional units.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement legal strategies aligned with business goals, including store expansion, franchise development, and e-commerce growth.
• Establish legal policies, frameworks, and SOPs for the organization.
• Ensure strong legal governance and risk control mechanisms, including support for statutory and Board-level compliance.
• Act as the Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, ensuring compliance with the Companies Act, 2013, SEBI regulations (where applicable), FEMA, and other corporate laws.
• Convene and manage Board Meetings, Committee Meetings, and General Meetings - including preparation of notices, agendas, and Board/Committee papers.
• Prepare and maintain minutes, statutory registers, and records in accordance with prescribed timelines and formats.
• Ensure timely filing of statutory returns and forms with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), MCA, and other regulatory authorities.
• Advise the Board and senior management on corporate governance best practices, director duties, and related-party transaction compliance.
• Coordinate secretarial due diligence and documentation for corporate actions including share allotments, transfers, charges, and corporate restructuring.
• Liaise with statutory auditors, secretarial auditors, RoC, and other regulators for audits, inspections, and certifications.
• Oversee the drafting, review, and negotiation of key agreements including: Store Lease, Franchise/FOFO, B2B Retailer, Vendor & Karigar/Manufacturing, Distribution and Dealer Agreements, MSA, SLA, NDA, MOUs, E-commerce/Marketplace Agreements, and Consultancy & Financial Advisory Agreements.
• Provide strategic inputs in high-value and complex transactions, including franchise structuring and new market entry.
• Standardize and periodically update contract templates - including customer terms & conditions, warranty, and buy-back/exchange policies.
• Lead and manage negotiations with internal and external stakeholders for effective finalization of agreements.
• Draft, review, and respond to legal notices, while proactively negotiating to minimize potential litigation.
• Conduct real-estate due diligence for new store locations and leased premises.
• Lead and oversee litigation, arbitration, and Intellectual Property (IP) matters across jurisdictions in India.
• Develop and implement litigation strategies while closely monitoring the progress of cases.
• Handle consumer disputes, warranty claims, and recovery matters through ADR mechanisms, exploring all legal avenues to achieve commercially viable outcomes.
• Manage and assess the performance of external counsel to ensure effective legal representation and optimal outcomes.
• Establish and oversee an enterprise compliance calendar covering legal, secretarial, and regulatory filings.
• Act as a key advisor to the CEO, Board, leadership, and business teams on legal and governance matters.
• Support strategic business decisions - expansion, franchising, product launches, and corporate actions - with legal and secretarial insights.
• Provide guidance on complex contractual, intellectual property, corporate, and regulatory issues.
• Build, lead, and mentor the in-house legal and secretarial team.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Retail Operations, Finance, HR, and Marketing.
• Manage relationships with external counsel, secretarial consultants, auditors, and regulatory authorities.
• Monitor legal and secretarial MIS, dashboards, and reporting systems for leadership and Board reporting.
• Drive process improvement and automation in legal and secretarial operations.

Job description

Job Description:

• a. Legal Strategy & Governance

• Develop and implement legal strategies aligned with business goals, including store expansion, franchise

• development, and e-commerce growth.

• Establish legal policies, frameworks, and SOPs for the organization.

• Ensure strong legal governance and risk control mechanisms, including support for statutory and Board-level

• compliance.

• b. Company Secretarial & Corporate Governance

• Act as the Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, ensuring compliance with the Companies Act, 2013, SEBI

• regulations (where applicable), FEMA, and other corporate laws.

• Convene and manage Board Meetings, Committee Meetings, and General Meetings - including preparation of

• notices, agendas, and Board/Committee papers.

• Prepare and maintain minutes, statutory registers, and records in accordance with prescribed timelines and

• formats.

• Ensure timely filing of statutory returns and forms with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), MCA, and other

• regulatory authorities.

• Advise the Board and senior management on corporate governance best practices, director duties, and related-

• party transaction compliance.

• Coordinate secretarial due diligence and documentation for corporate actions including share allotments, transfers,

• charges, and corporate restructuring.

• Liaise with statutory auditors, secretarial auditors, RoC, and other regulators for audits, inspections, and

• certifications.

• c. Contract Management & Commercial Structuring

• Oversee the drafting, review, and negotiation of key agreements including: Store Lease Agreements,

• Franchise/FOFO Agreements, B2B Retailer, Vendor & Karigar/Manufacturing Agreements, Distribution and

• Dealer Agreements, MSA, SLA, NDA, MOUs, E-commerce/Marketplace Agreements, and Consultancy &

• Financial Advisory Agreements.

• Provide strategic inputs in high-value and complex transactions, including franchise structuring and new market

• entry.

• Standardize and periodically update contract templates - including customer terms & conditions, warranty, and

• buy-back/exchange policies - to enhance contracting efficiency in line with evolving business requirements.

• Lead and manage negotiations with internal and external stakeholders for effective finalization of agreements.

• Draft, review, and respond to legal notices, while proactively negotiating to minimize potential litigation.

• Conduct real-estate due diligence for new store locations and leased premises.

• d. Litigation & Dispute Resolution

• Lead and oversee litigation, arbitration, and Intellectual Property (IP) matters - including trademark, design, and

• anti-counterfeiting enforcement - across jurisdictions in India.

• Develop and implement litigation strategies while closely monitoring the progress of cases.

• Handle consumer disputes, warranty claims, and recovery matters through ADR mechanisms, exploring all legal

• avenues to achieve commercially viable outcomes.

• Manage and assess the performance of external counsel to ensure effective legal representation and optimal

• outcomes.

• e. Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with applicable laws including AML, PMLA, KYC norms for high-value transactions,

• hallmarking and BIS certification requirements, and precious metal/gemstone trade and customs regulations.

• Monitor and address violations of legal, corporate, and contractual obligations.

• Identify legal, corporate, and regulatory risks across the enterprise and implement proactive mitigation strategies.

• Establish and oversee an enterprise compliance calendar covering legal, secretarial, and regulatory filings.

• f. Legal Advisory to Business

• Act as a key advisor to the CEO, Board, leadership, and business teams on legal and governance matters.

• Support strategic business decisions - expansion, franchising, product launches, and corporate actions - with

• legal and secretarial insights.

• Provide guidance on complex contractual, intellectual property, corporate, and regulatory issues.

• g. Stakeholder & Team Management

• Build, lead, and mentor the in-house legal and secretarial team.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Retail Operations, Finance, HR, and Marketing.

• Manage relationships with external counsel, secretarial consultants, auditors, and regulatory authorities.

• h. MIS, Budgeting & Process Improvement

• Monitor legal and secretarial MIS, dashboards, and reporting systems for leadership and Board reporting.

• Control legal, secretarial, and consultancy costs within approved budgets.

• Drive process improvement and automation in legal and secretarial operations.