Manager – Legal

Mangalam Placement Pvt Ltd.; Mumbai; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Mangalam Placement Pvt Ltd. is seeking a Legal Manager to lead a small legal team and ensure top-quality, timely output. You will supervise 4–5 associates, oversee drafting, reviews, and approvals, and enforce structured processes across the department.

Responsibilities include handling corporate, commercial, and property matters, due diligence, and coordinating with external counsel. Prior experience in hospitality or multi-entity groups will be valued.

Qualifications

• LLB from a reputed National Law University or Institute with strong academic credentials.
• 4–6 years of post-qualification legal experience in corporate, commercial, or hospitality sectors.
• Experience supervising or reviewing the work of junior lawyers or associates.

Responsibilities

• Team supervision: manage 4–5 associates with varying seniority; allocate work based on skill and capacity.
• First and final review of agreements, legal documents, and deliverables before stakeholder sharing.
• Maintain maker-checker workflow as primary quality gate; obtain appropriate approvals for complex matters.
• Provide on-the-job training and feedback on drafting quality and commercial judgment.
• Ensure MIS updates and weekly/monthly reporting on workload, capacity, and compliance.
• Handle day-to-day corporate, commercial, and real estate matters; draft and review contracts and notices.
• Coordinate with external counsels, bankers, and internal teams; conduct due diligence for transactions.
• Maintain templates, clause libraries, and contract repositories; manage litigation matters and IP issues.

Education

LLB from a reputed National Law University or Institute

4–6 years post-qualification legal experience

1–2 years supervising or reviewing junior lawyers

Job description

. Team Supervision, Process Governance & Reporting

This is the most critical dimension of the role. The Manager will be responsible for the quality, timeliness, and process compliance of all work produced by the legal team.

1.1 Team Management

• Supervise and manage a team of 4–5 legal associates of varying seniority and capability levels.
• Allocate incoming legal work to appropriate team members based on complexity, capacity, and skill profile.
• Conduct first-level and final review of all agreements, legal documents, opinions, and deliverables prepared by team members before they are shared with any internal or external stakeholder.
• Operate as the primary quality gate in the department’s maker-checker workflow: no document leaves the team without the Manager’s sign-off (for routine matters) or the Manager’s review followed by senior approval (for critical matters).
• Provide on-the-job training, feedback, and skill development support to junior team members, particularly on drafting quality, legal reasoning, and commercial judgment.
• Ensure that no team member actions any work request from any department head, business unit, or external party without first logging it in the department’s MIS and obtaining the Manager’s allocation confirmation.

1.2 Process Enforcement & Documentation Standards

• Enforce and monitor compliance with the department’s Standard Operating Processes, including the maker-checker workflow, tiered approval system, and agreement clause checklists.
• Ensure that the team follows the prescribed folder structure and file naming conventions for all entity-level documentation on the shared server.
• Verify that for every completed agreement, the final entity folder contains: (a) the execution version Word file, (b) the signed/executed PDF, and (c) counterparty KYC and corporate authorisation documents, all correctly named and filed.
• Review and sign the Compliance Checklist for every agreement, confirming that all required boilerplate clauses (termination, indemnity, arbitration, confidentiality, force majeure, governing law, corporate authorisation, KYC) have been addressed as per the department’s clause matrix.
• Maintain and enforce the Documentation MIS – ensure all team members update the tracker within stipulated timelines, and review the MIS weekly for completeness, accuracy, and ageing items.
• Report regularly to the Head of Department on: work completed, work in progress, pending and overdue items, team capacity, process compliance, and any matters requiring escalation.
• Present a weekly status summary and a monthly MIS dashboard to the department head.
• Escalate complex, high-value, or risk-sensitive matters to the department head promptly with a clear brief, risk assessment, and recommended course of action.
• Participate in the implementation, continuous improvement, and monitoring of departmental processes, standards, and best practices.

2. Corporate, Commercial & Transactional Matters

• Handle day-to-day corporate, commercial, and legal matters of the group’s entities independently.
• Draft, review, negotiate, and finalise commercial agreements, contracts, deeds, notices, undertakings, and other legal documents across multiple entity types (private limited companies, LLPs, trusts, clubs, and international entities).
• Draft and review transaction documents including Share Purchase Agreements (SPA), Shareholders’ Agreements (SHA), Share Subscription Agreements (SSA), Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA), Joint Venture Agreements, and other investment and transaction-related documents.
• Conduct and manage legal due diligence for corporate, commercial, investment, and property transactions.
• Support mergers, acquisitions, investments, restructuring, and other corporate transactions from a legal and documentation perspective.
• Identify legal and commercial risks in agreements and transactions and provide practical, commercially viable recommendations for risk mitigation.
• Review and advise on intellectual property matters, including trademark agreements, licensing, confidentiality, and IP-related clauses in commercial contracts. Coordinate with external counsel for IP registration, protection, and enforcement as needed.
• Coordinate with internal business teams, management, promoters, external counsels, consultants, bankers, and other stakeholders as required.

Given the group’s hospitality portfolio (hotel properties across multiple locations), property-related legal work forms a significant part of the department’s activity.

• Handle legal aspects of real estate and property transactions, including hotel acquisitions, property due diligence, and development arrangements.
• Draft, review, and negotiate property documents including Sale Deeds, Deeds of Conveyance, Agreements for Sale, Lease and Leave & Licence Agreements, Development Agreements, Powers of Attorney, indemnity and undertaking documents, and other property-related documentation.
• Conduct and coordinate property title due diligence and review title reports, encumbrance certificates, mutation entries, revenue records, and chain-of-title documentation.
• Examine property records, permissions, approvals (OC/CC, environmental, fire safety, municipal), and other relevant documentation for the group’s hotel and commercial assets.
• Advise management on legal risks associated with property transactions and recommend appropriate safeguards, particularly for high-value hospitality assets.
• Manage and monitor the group’s litigation and dispute-related matters across various forums and jurisdictions.
• Coordinate with external advocates, law firms, and legal consultants for ongoing litigation matters.
• Review and provide inputs on legal notices, replies, plaints, petitions, written statements, affidavits, applications, appeals, and other pleadings.
• Track the status of ongoing litigation, ensure timely responses, filings, and compliance with court and authority requirements.
• Analyse legal disputes and advise internal stakeholders on potential risks, liabilities, settlement options, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (arbitration, mediation, negotiation).
• Maintain proper records, documentation, and a litigation tracker for all ongoing and concluded matters.
• Conduct legal research and provide clear, practical, and commercially viable legal opinions.
• Develop and maintain legal documentation templates, standard clause libraries, checklists, and contract repositories.

Legal & Technical Skills

People & Process Skills

Excellent legal drafting and contract review skills

Demonstrated ability to supervise, review, and manage the output of a legal team

Strong transactional experience (SPA, SHA, SSA, NDA, JV, M&A documentation)

Ability to allocate work, set priorities, and enforce deadlines across multiple team members

Hands-on experience in legal due diligence (corporate and property)

Process orientation – comfort with structured workflows, checklists, trackers, and documentation standards

Sound understanding of real estate and property documentation

Strong reporting discipline – ability to maintain and present MIS, dashboards, and status updates

Experience in handling and coordinating litigation matters

Commercial acumen and ability to balance legal risk with business requirements

Good understanding of IP matters (trademarks, licensing, confidentiality)

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills

Strong legal research, analytical, and problem-solving abilities

High attention to detail, ownership mentality, and closure orientation

Working knowledge of FEMA, Companies Act, and relevant regulatory frameworks

Ability to work independently, manage multiple matters, and meet deadlines consistently

Educational Qualification & Experience

• LLB from a reputed National Law University or Institute (5-year integrated programme preferred; 3-year LLB from a recognised university also considered).
• 4–6 years of relevant post-qualification legal experience.
• At least 1–2 years of the above experience should involve supervising or reviewing the work of junior lawyers or associates.
• Prior experience in a top-tier or reputed law firm, a leading corporate legal department, or a meaningful combination of both is strongly preferred.
• Candidates must have substantive exposure to both litigation and non-litigation / corporate legal work.
• Experience in corporate transactions, restructuring, due diligence, commercial contracts, real estate / property matters, and intellectual property will be highly valued.
• Exposure to the hospitality industry, real estate sector, or multi-entity group structures will be an added advantage.