Lead Legal - Real Estate

Job Purpose : Safeguard the organisation s real estate assets , manage and advise on all legal aspects of real estate matters including land acquisition, leasing, due diligence, documentation, and dispute handling, ensuring timely and legally sound support to business and project teams. Provide endtoend legal support for real estate transactions by drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and finalising agreements while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and internal goverce standards.

Job Context & Challenges:

Handles regulatory compliance and disputes arising from acquisitions, lease arrangements, and legacy land issues. Supports ongoing and upcoming projects such as plant expansions, warehouses, offices, and infrastructure across multiple states. Works closely with project, commercial, and procurement teams and external counsels to enable execution within timelines and compliance frameworks. Operates in a highvolume transactional environment involving regular interaction with landowners, developers, brokers, government authorities, and external advocates. Responsible for independently closing transactions and maintaining documentation hygiene.

• Major Challenges:
• Managing multiple parallel transactions with tight timelines.
• Interpreting statespecific land laws accurately.
• Balancing business urgency with legal risk mitigation
• Negotiating commercially sensitive agreements.
• Controlling legal costs and quality through external counsel, managing litigation without impacting project timelines.
• Addressing legacy land and documentation gaps.
• Adapting to frequent regulatory changes.
• Managing stakeholder expectations amid judicial delays.

KRAs :

• Real Estate Legal Advisory & Transaction Support
• Advise project and business teams on legal feasibility of land acquisition, leasing, and development proposals.
• Conduct title due diligence and issue legal risk notes with mitigation plans.
• Contract Drafting & Negotiation

Draft, vet, and negotiate real estate agreements (sale deeds, lease deeds, MoUs, licenses, easements, and ROW agreements) ensuring legal robustness and commercial alignment.

• Incorporate standard clauses and company safeguards consistently, Timely Closure of Real Estate Transactions.
• Coordinate registrations and ensure adherence to project timelines.
• Litigation & Dispute Management
• Manage litigation related to land acquisition, title disputes, lease issues, and encroachments.
• Coordinate with advocates and monitor case progress, Risk Identification & Mitigation.
• Identify legal risks related to title, land use, zoning, and statutory approvals.
• Recommend alternate deal structures to mitigate exposure.
• Stakeholder & CrossFunctional Collaboration
• Work closely with Projects, Commercial, Fice, and Procurement teams.
• Align legal solutions with business priorities while maintaining compliance.
• External Counsel Management.
• Engage and brief external advocates for due diligence, documentation, and opinions.
• Review deliverables to ensure quality and cost efficiency.
• Process Standardization & Efficiency
• Support development of Documentation & Record Management, templates, checklists, and SOPs for real estate transactions.
• Reduce turnaround time through structured documentation processes.
• Ensure completeness and accuracy of title documents, registrations, and statutory records.
• Maintain organized repositories for deeds, agreements, and approvals.
• Regulatory & Statutory Compliance
• Ensure compliance with land laws, municipal regulations, and local statutory requirements.
• Track changes in laws impacting land and property, Transaction Compliance & Goverce.
• Ensure all transactions comply withapplicable land laws, stamp duty, registration, and internal approval frameworks
• Flag deviations and seek timely approvals.
• Coordination with Authorities & Intermediaries
• Liaise with subregistrars, revenue offices, brokers, and surveyors for smooth execution.
• Support site teams during registrations and inspections.
• Risk Reporting & Case Tracking
• Maintain dashboards for ongoing cases and legal risks.
• Provide periodic updates to business and leadership teams.
• Preventive Legal Support
• Proactively advise business teams to avoid future disputes
• Support audits and internal reviews related to real estate assets.