General Counsel - Legal Head

Its never been a more exciting time to join Vistra.

At Vistra our purpose is progress. We believe that our clients have the power to change the world and to do great things for global progress, and we exist to remove the friction that comes from the complexity of global business to help our clients achieve progress without friction.

But progress only happens when people come together and take action. And we’re absolutely committed to building a culture where our people can do just that. 

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team as General Counsel - Legal. Reporting to the Managing Director- India and Mauritius this full-time and permanent position is based in Mumbai, India and offers national coverage, allowing you to make a significant impact to our legal function and its’ growth.

Purpose of the role:

This role has overall responsibility for legal operations and execution of capital market and Funds transactions, but also exhibit a strong sense of commercial acumen. Support the business teams with effective solution driven approach combined with managing risk for the organization.

Key responsibilities:

Funds related expertise:

• Drafting, vetting and execution of Transaction Documents within the timelines as defined in Legal SOP for Securitisation, Private Equity & Venture Capital Funds, Alternate Investment Fund and Investment Funds, ESOP, Employee Welfare Trust and other products. Transaction due diligence and legal compliances.
• Drafting and vetting of transaction documents and providing advisory support.
• Advice on legal structures to internal teams and external client teams including discussion with client legal in matters of drafting and structure evaluation.
• Developing standardized documentation and the drafting / negotiation of customized documents for transactions
• Help develop a strategic plan for the rapidly evolving legal department, benchmarking against value added service of legal firms in the country, and create and develop high end value driven legal services
• Proposes and investigates opportunities to make the department more efficient through the use of technology and improved process and sourcing
• Training on new structures, regulations and laws to all stakeholders in the organisation - legal research and knowledge management
• Internal coordination with other teams related to transactions
• Regulatory and compliance MIS.

Financing related expertise:

• Drafting, vetting and execution of financial transaction documents (loan, debentures, securities) within the timelines as defined in Legal SOP for Debenture issuances, Security Trustee transaction, Project Finance, Securitisation, Private Equity & Venture Capital Funds alternate investment fund and other funds, intellectual property rights and other products. Transaction due diligence and legal compliances.
• Advice on legal structures to internal teams and external client teams including discussion with client legal in matters of drafting and structure evaluation
• Due – diligence on checklist documents of the transaction including verification of property details, title reports, RoC Search report, valuation reports etc.
• Developing standardized documentation and the drafting / negotiation of customized documents for transactions
• Help develop a strategic plan for the rapidly evolving legal department, benchmarking against value added service of legal firms in the country, and create and develop high end value driven legal services
• Proposes and investigates opportunities to make the department more efficient through the use of technology and improved process and sourcing
• Team management and career development and career growth opportunities for all members of the Legal team, including identification of stretch assignments, workload allocation, trainings and new hire needs.

Regulatory interfacing:

• The candidate should be adept in conversation with the regulators, especially SEBI, as Vistra is a SEBI registered intermediary.

Strong connect within legal fraternity:

• The candidate should be well connected with the spectrum of law firms.
• Coordinate with external law firms in order to pursue legal cases for and against the company and to protect company’s interest and interest of clients where company acts in fiduciary capacity.

Key requirements:

• Minimum 10 years working experience in legal and capital market structuring.
• Proven track record in driving organic growth through increasing revenue existing client bases while expanding portfolio through new additions.
• Direct operational experience in jurisdictions with multiple Divisional lines
• Strong track record in acting as a partner to senior management
• Bachelor’s degree in Law / Master’s degree in Law
• Knowledge of (i) Securitization Trust; and (ii) Multi-Family Office, will be an added advantage
• Strong team-player with experience with working in a dynamic organisation and able to build bridges between the different stakeholders within the organisation
• Ability to think outside of the box, to challenge status quo, but to do so diplomatically and collaborative manner
• Strong communication and influencing skills; collaborative and a team player
• Culturally sensitive and experienced in dealing with multiple nationalities, business cultures
• Ability to deal with ambiguities and work within ill-defined boundaries
• Improving turnaround time and automation of processes including ensuing zero liability towards transaction
• Knowledge of SEBI, income-tax, FEMA, and other allied laws will be an added advantage

Company Benefits:

At our Vistra ITCL office, we believe in putting our employees’ well-being first! We offer a hybrid working arrangement.

Additionally, we provide attractive insurance benefits, excellent job exposure and career prospects.

If you are excited about working with us, we encourage you to apply or have a confidential chat with one of our Talent Acquisition team members. Our goal is to make this a great place to work where all our people can thrive. We hope you join us on this exciting journey!