JOB DESCRIPTIONHead – Legal
Company: Manju Groups
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Department: Legal
Designation: Head – Legal
Reporting To: Managing Director / Executive Management
Industry: Real Estate & Infrastructure
Experience: 15–20+ Years
Employment Type: Full-Time | Senior Leadership
1. Role Purpose
The Head – Legal will lead the entire legal function of Manju Groups, providing strategic legal counsel across real estate development, land acquisition, construction, property transactions, corporate matters, regulatory compliance, contracts, litigation, and dispute resolution.
The role will be responsible for protecting the organisation's legal and commercial interests, ensuring robust title and documentation, minimising legal risks, and enabling business teams to execute projects efficiently while maintaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The position will act as the principal legal advisor to the Managing Director and senior management on all critical legal and business matters.
2. Key ResponsibilitiesA. Real Estate & Property Legal
- Lead legal matters relating to residential, commercial and mixed-use real estate projects.
- Conduct and oversee property title due diligence for land acquisitions and development projects.
- Review title deeds, parent documents, encumbrance certificates, patta, chitta, FMB, survey records and other land-related documents.
- Identify title defects, ownership issues, encumbrances, claims and potential legal risks.
- Advise management on land purchase, joint development, joint ventures, development agreements and property transactions.
- Ensure legal due diligence is completed before acquisition, investment or project launch.
- Coordinate with external advocates, legal consultants, surveyors and statutory authorities.
B. Land Acquisition & Development
- Provide legal support for land acquisition and aggregation activities.
- Draft and review:
- Sale Agreements
- Sale Deeds
- Joint Development Agreements
- Joint Venture Agreements
- Development Agreements
- Power of Attorney
- MoUs
- Landowner Agreements
- Construction Agreements
- Handle legal issues relating to inherited properties, partition, succession, family settlements and multiple ownership.
- Identify and resolve land disputes before project acquisition wherever possible.
- Support negotiations with landowners, developers, investors and business partners.
C. RERA & Real Estate Regulatory Compliance
- Ensure compliance with applicable RERA regulations, including project registration and ongoing statutory requirements.
- Review RERA-related documentation, disclosures, agreements and customer communications.
- Ensure compliance with applicable Tamil Nadu real estate regulations and authorities.
- Advise project, sales, CRM and management teams on regulatory requirements.
- Monitor changes in real estate laws and advise management on their business impact.
D. Contracts & Commercial Legal
- Lead drafting, review and negotiation of commercial and business agreements.
- Review agreements relating to:
- Contractors
- Vendors
- Consultants
- Architects
- Project Management Consultants
- Marketing agencies
- Channel partners
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Strategic partners
- Establish standard legal templates and contract frameworks across the organisation.
- Identify commercial and legal risks in agreements and recommend appropriate mitigation.
- Maintain a centralised contract repository and renewal/obligation tracker.
E. Litigation & Dispute Management
- Lead management of all litigation and legal disputes involving the organisation.
- Oversee civil, commercial, property, consumer, RERA and other legal proceedings.
- Develop litigation strategy in consultation with external advocates.
- Monitor court cases, notices, hearings, orders and legal deadlines.
- Maintain a central litigation tracker and provide periodic updates to senior management.
- Evaluate the commercial implications of litigation and recommend settlement or legal action where appropriate.
- Manage external law firms and advocates to ensure quality, timelines and cost effectiveness.
F. Corporate & Governance
- Provide legal advice on corporate and business structuring.
- Review Board resolutions, agreements, corporate documentation and major transactions.
- Support management on mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, investments and strategic partnerships.
- Coordinate with Company Secretary, Finance and senior management on corporate legal matters.
- Ensure proper documentation and legal governance for major business decisions.
G. Statutory & Regulatory Compliance
- Establish and monitor a comprehensive legal compliance framework.
- Track applicable laws and regulations affecting real estate and construction operations.
- Advise management on changes in:
- Real Estate Laws
- RERA
- Land Laws
- Registration Laws
- Stamp Duty
- Contract Laws
- Labour-related legal matters
- Environmental regulations
- Municipal regulations
- Building and development regulations
- Ensure timely legal compliance across projects and corporate functions.
H. Customer & Sales Legal
- Review customer agreements, allotment letters, sale agreements and related documentation.
- Advise Sales and CRM teams on legal aspects of customer commitments.
- Review customer complaints involving legal or contractual issues.
- Support resolution of disputes relating to cancellations, refunds, possession, delayed delivery and contractual obligations.
- Ensure customer documentation is legally robust and commercially practical.
I. Legal Risk Management
- Develop a proactive legal risk management framework for the organisation.
- Conduct periodic legal risk reviews across projects and business functions.
- Identify potential risks before they become disputes or financial liabilities.
- Create legal risk registers for major projects.
- Advise management on mitigation strategies for high-value or high-risk transactions.
J. Leadership & Legal Function Management
- Build and lead an effective in-house legal team.
- Define roles, responsibilities, KPIs and performance standards for the legal function.
- Develop legal SOPs, checklists and approval matrices.
- Manage external legal consultants and law firms.
- Control legal costs and external counsel expenses.
- Establish turnaround-time standards for legal reviews.
- Build a strong legal governance culture across the organisation.
3. Key Deliverables / KPIs
- Zero major title-related legal surprises after project acquisition.
- Timely completion of legal due diligence for all land transactions.
- Effective management and reduction of litigation exposure.
- Timely review and execution of critical business contracts.
- RERA and regulatory compliance across projects.
- Reduction in contractual and legal risks.
- Effective recovery/protection of company assets and interests.
- Legal cost optimisation.
- Timely closure of notices, disputes and litigation matters.
- Implementation of standardised legal documentation and SOPs.
- Creation of a centralised legal and litigation MIS.
- Strong legal support to business expansion and new project acquisition.
4. Candidate ProfileEducation
- LLB / B.L. mandatory.
- LLM / additional legal or corporate qualification will be an advantage.
- Membership with the Bar Council preferred.
Experience
- 15–20+ years of relevant legal experience, preferably in real estate, infrastructure, construction or property development.
- Strong experience in handling land acquisition, title verification, real estate transactions, RERA and litigation.
- Prior experience leading an in-house legal function or working as a senior legal counsel in a real estate organisation is preferred.
Preferred Industry Background
Candidates from:
- Real Estate Developers
- Infrastructure Companies
- Construction Companies
- Property Development Groups
- Real Estate Investment Companies
- Large Corporate Legal Departments
- Law Firms handling real estate and property matters
5. Core Competencies
- Real Estate Law
- Property & Land Law
- Title Due Diligence
- Land Acquisition
- RERA
- Contract Drafting & Negotiation
- Litigation Management
- Dispute Resolution
- Corporate Law
- Regulatory Compliance
- Legal Risk Management
- Commercial Negotiation
- Stakeholder Management
- Legal Team Leadership
6. Leadership Competencies
- Strategic thinking and commercial orientation
- Strong decision-making ability
- Excellent negotiation skills
- High attention to detail
- Strong analytical and risk-assessment capability
- Ability to work closely with promoters and senior management
- Strong communication and influencing skills
- Ability to handle confidential and sensitive matters
- Business-oriented approach to legal issues
- Ability to balance legal protection with business objectives
7. Key Stakeholders
Internal:
- Managing Director / Promoters
- Executive Management
- Projects
- Land Acquisition
- Finance & Accounts
- Sales & Marketing
- CRM
- Procurement
- Administration
- HR
- Design & Planning
External:
- Advocates & Law Firms
- Government & Regulatory Authorities
- Landowners
- Customers
- Contractors & Consultants
- Financial Institutions
- Joint Venture Partners
- Statutory Authorities
8. Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate should be a strong real estate legal professional with deep practical exposure to land, title, development transactions, RERA, contracts and litigation, coupled with the ability to function as a strategic advisor to the promoters and senior management.
The candidate should not be limited to a documentation or litigation role but should be capable of owning the complete legal lifecycle of a real estate project — from land acquisition and title verification through development, sales, customer agreements, regulatory compliance and project closure.
Pay: ₹50,000.00 - ₹75,000.00 per month
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
