Key Responsibilities
- Draft, review and negotiate the full range of agency contracts – client servicing/retainer agreements, statements of work, vendor and media empanelment agreements, influencer/talent and endorsement agreements, NDAs, and data processing/vendor agreements.
- Own SpotDraft (or the agency's CLM platform of choice) as the primary system owner – including template design, clause library management, approval workflow configuration, e-signature integration, and contract repository hygiene.
- Drive adoption of the CLM tool across business teams; train non-legal stakeholders (client servicing, sales, finance, HR) on self-serve contracting workflows and escalation paths.
- Assess and flag contractual risk (liability, indemnity, IP ownership, termination, exclusivity, data protection) and negotiate directly with counterparties within delegated authority.
- Advise on intellectual property and personality/publicity rights issues relevant to PR, advertising and influencer engagements, including content ownership, usage rights and licensing.
- Ensure contracts and internal processes reflect applicable law, including the Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (including advertising/endorsement guidelines), the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and relevant advertising self-regulatory codes (ASCI).
- Maintain a compliance/renewal calendar and proactively flag upcoming contract expirations, auto-renewals and obligations to relevant business owners.
- Liaise with and brief external counsel on specialised, high-value or contentious matters, and manage outside counsel spend where relevant.
- Support commercial negotiations for new client mandates and large vendor/media deals, working closely with leadership.
- Mentor junior legal team members (if any) and act as the go-to contact for day-to-day contracting queries across the business.
Required Skills & Qualifications
- LLB from a recognised university (mandatory); LLM is an advantage but not required.
- 8–10 years of post-qualification experience, with meaningful time spent in-house or in a fast-paced services, agency, media or advertising environment.
- Demonstrable, hands-on experience with SpotDraft or a comparable CLM platform (e.g., Icertis, Conga, Ironclad, DocuSign CLM) – configuration/administration experience is strongly preferred over end-user experience alone.
- Strong commercial contract drafting and negotiation skills, with the judgment to close deals efficiently without unnecessary escalation.
- Working knowledge of IP, media/advertising law, and data protection requirements (DPDP Act, 2023) as they apply to client and vendor contracting.
- Track record of building or streamlining legal operations processes – template standardisation, clause libraries, workflow automation.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain legal/commercial risk clearly to non-legal audiences and to operate as a business partner, not just a gatekeeper.
- Comfortable operating with a high volume of contracts and tight turnaround expectations typical of an agency environment.
Good to Have
- Prior experience in a PR, advertising, media, marketing services, or entertainment industry setting.
- Experience advising on influencer/talent agreements and endorsement compliance.
- Exposure to broader data privacy/DPDP compliance work beyond contracting.
- Experience managing or mentoring a small legal/contracts team.
