Senior Associate Litigation & Legal Recovery

Role & responsibilities

Litigation & Legal Recovery

• Manage end-to-end legal recovery action on delinquent and hard-bucket accounts for partner lenders, from pre-litigation notices through filing, prosecution, settlement and execution.
• Handle and supervise civil recovery suits, Lok Adalat and pre-litigation settlements, arbitration proceedings and enforcement of awards.
• Handle cheque dishonour cases under Section 138 of the NI Act and NACH/mandate dishonour cases under Section 25 of the PSS Act.
• Draft, review and issue legal notices, replies, pleadings, applications and settlement documents.
• Track hearings, orders and case status across forums, and keep case records and MIS accurate.
• Appear before courts, tribunals and Lok Adalats where required, and coordinate with external counsel.

Advocate Network Management

• Identify, empanel and onboard local advocates across target locations on a cost-efficient basis.
• Allocate matters, monitor turnaround and quality, and review the work of empanelled advocates.
• Coordinate documentation, invoicing and periodic reporting with the advocate network.

Field & Stakeholder Engagement

• Travel frequently to field locations across states, including semi-urban and remote areas, mainly Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.
• Work with partner lenders and internal collections, operations and business teams to identify accounts for legal action and agree on recovery strategy.
• Engage with borrowers where appropriate, with integrity and sound judgement.

Broader Legal Function

• Support the groups wider legal work, including contracts, group transactions and regulatory matters.

Preferred candidate profile

Education & Enrolment

• B.L. / LL.B. from a recognised university
• Enrolled with a State Bar Council

Experience

• 35 years of post-qualification experience in litigation
• Experience in bank or NBFC recovery, debt recovery litigation, arbitration or a related area is preferred

Legal Knowledge

• Working knowledge of the NI Act (Section 138), the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (Section 25), the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and the CPC
• Familiarity with recovery procedures and financial services regulation
• Knowledge of SARFAESI and DRT proceedings is a plus

Language & Travel

• Fluency in Hindi (spoken and written) is mandatory
• Other regional languages are an added advantage
• Willing to travel frequently, including to remote locations, mainly across Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan

Skills & Attributes

• Strong drafting, negotiation and coordination skills
• Enterprising and self-driven, comfortable working independently in a new, evolving setup
• Organised and detail-oriented, able to manage a high volume of matters across jurisdictions
• Comfortable with MS Excel, case-tracking tools and digital workflows
• High integrity and sound judgement in sensitive borrower-facing situations