Legal Counsel

We are looking for a sharp, commercially minded lawyer to join our Legal team as Senior Manager – Legal. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role in the CarDekho Group. You will work across commercial, regulatory, and transactional matters and will work closely with business, product, finance, and leadership teams.

Key Responsibilities

Contracts & Commercial Legal

• Draft, review, negotiate, and finalize a wide spectrum of commercial contracts including vendor agreements, supplier and OEM contracts, service agreements, technology licensing agreements, SaaS/software agreements, NDAs, MoUs, and distribution/dealership arrangements.
• Own the end-to-end contract lifecycle from initial drafting through redlines, negotiation, execution, and post-execution obligations tracking.
• Develop and maintain standard contract templates, playbooks, and fallback positions for routine commercial transactions.
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance on contract structures, risk allocation, and key negotiation positions.
• Partner with procurement, sales, product, and operations teams to support deal closure efficiently and within acceptable risk parameters.
  

Regulatory & Compliance

• Must understand the applicable laws and regulations relevant to the auto tech sector including Motor Vehicles Act, IT Act, data protection (DPDP Act, 2023), consumer protection laws, FDI/FEMA regulations.
• Assist in building and maintaining the companys compliance framework, policies, and internal controls.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as the primary legal point of contact for one or more business verticals, embedding with product, business, and finance teams
• Make judgment calls on when an issue needs escalation versus when it can be resolved at the deal desk
• Mentor and review the work of junior legal team members or associates supporting your vertical
• Liaise with external counsel and manage outside counsel relationships, scope, and costs effectively.
• Identify, assess, and flag legal risks in business decisions and transactions proactively.

Must have -

• LLB / BA LLB from a reputed law school; LLM is a plus.
• Enrolled with the Bar Council of India.
• 7–10 years of post-qualification experience (PQE) for Manager;
• Prior experience in a reputed law firm followed by in-house tenure is strongly preferred.
• Prior in-house experience in e-commerce, marketplace, fintech, or auto/mobility businesses
• Exposure to IP, data privacy (DPDP Act), or lending/insurance regulatory frameworks
• Experience setting up or scaling a compliance function in a fast-growing company