Senior Legal Counsel

Location: Mumbai, India (Lower Parel & Vashi Type: Full-time, In-office Experience - 5+ Budget- 5 to 8 LPA

We are hiring a Senior Legal Counsel to lead the legal function for Arcot Group. This is the most senior legal role in the organization. You will own the complete legal scope ? intellectual property, trademarks, patents, commercial contracts, corporate compliance, employment law, partnership structuring, dispute resolution, data protection, and governance ? across five legal entities in three countries. You will report directly to the CEO. You will have a Junior Legal Counsel or Paralegal supporting you on execution, research, and administration. But the strategy, the judgment calls, the deal structuring, and the CEO advisory function sit with you.

What You Will Own INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND BRAND PROTECTION You will build and manage the Group?s entire IP portfolio. Arcot Group operates 10+ brands and builds software products with genuinely novel AI-driven processes. You own it all:

• Conducting a full trademark audit across all brands (Arcot Group, Arcitech.ai, Haire.ai, ProSchool.ai, All Talent Agency, BPObox, InterpretIQ, Sharc Recruitment, My Wedding App, Archie) in India, UAE, and the USA
• Filing and managing trademark registrations across all jurisdictions ? lifecycle management from filing through renewals
• Maintaining a master trademark register as the single source of truth for the Group?s brand protection status
• Identifying patentable innovations in the Group?s software products and determining whether patent or trade secret protection is the better strategy for each
• Working directly with engineering teams and product managers to document innovations in patent-ready format
• Filing patent applications or managing external patent counsel for USPTO and international filings
• Establishing an invention disclosure process so engineers can flag potentially patentable innovations during development
• Monitoring for trademark and IP infringement across all jurisdictions and executing enforcement actions
• Clearing new brand names before public launch ? availability searches, clearance opinions, and defensive domain registration
• Ensuring every employee and contractor agreement contains airtight IP assignment clauses
• Advising on open-source license compliance for engineering teams </li></ul>

  The products you will assess for patent protection include:

  • Haire.ai: Avatar-led AI interviews, predictive candidate scoring, anti-cheating detection
  • ProSchool.ai: Adaptive learning algorithms, AI teaching assistants, automated grading systems
  • BPObox: Real-time speech analytics monitoring 100% of calls, sentiment detection, compliance flagging
  • InterpretIQ: Three-mode AI interpretation (full AI, AI + human supervision, human + AI assistance), intelligent interpreter routing
  • All Talent: Intelligent talent-opportunity matching, online auditioning system
  • Arcitech: Organizational brain architecture, AI code quality assessment process

    </li></ul> COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS Every client contract, vendor agreement, partnership deal, and inter-company arrangement across the Group passes through you. You will own the full contract lifecycle:

    • Creating and maintaining standardized contract templates: NDA, MSA, SOW, Inter-Company Services Agreement, Vendor Agreement, Software License Agreement, Partnership Agreement, Employment Agreement, Contractor Agreement
    • Reviewing all inbound contracts before any signature ? no exceptions
    • Negotiating contract terms on behalf of Arcitech, Arcot Group, and portfolio companies
    • Building a clause library with pre-approved language for common negotiation points (limitation of liability, indemnity, force majeure, termination, SLA penalties) so Account Managers can handle routine negotiations independently
    • Maintaining a contract register with proactive deadline alerts for renewals, auto-renewals, and termination notice periods
    • Ensuring all inter-company transactions have arm?s length agreements in place (critical for UAE free zone compliance and Indian transfer pricing) </li></ul> Contract turnaround target: 2 business days for standard NDAs, 3 for MSA/SOW, 5 for complex or non-standard agreements. MULTI-JURISDICTION COMPLIANCE

      Five entities, three countries, each with its own regulatory regime:

      • India (Arcitech AI Solutions Pvt Ltd): Companies Act 2013, ROC filings, board resolutions, GST and TDS legal coordination, Professional Tax, ESIC/PF, Shops and Establishment Act
      • UAE (Arcitech FZCO + Arcot Global Ventures FZCO): Trade license renewals, visa quotas, establishment card, beneficial ownership, economic substance regulations, AML compliance, DSOA/Dtec lease compliance
      • USA (Arcitech LLC + ProSchool LLC): Delaware annual reports, franchise tax, registered agent, state-level compliance
      • Building and maintaining a master compliance calendar across all entities
      • Advising the CEO on entity structure for new ventures ? which jurisdiction, what entity type, implications

        </li></ul> EMPLOYMENT AND CONTRACTOR LAW

        • Standardizing employment and contractor agreements for India, UAE, and USA ? jurisdiction-specific, not one generic template
        • Managing contractor classification risk, particularly in UAE (full exclusivity plus mandatory fixed hours increases reclassification risk under UAE Labour Law)
        • Advising on enforceability of non-compete and non-solicitation clauses by jurisdiction (24 months maximum for non-solicitation in UAE; generally unenforceable post-employment in India; varies by state in US)
        • Supporting HR on termination processes, disciplinary actions, and settlement agreements
        • Reviewing the Employee Handbook and corporate policies for legal compliance across jurisdictions </li></ul> PARTNERSHIP AND INVESTMENT STRUCTURING Arcot Group actively creates new ventures by partnering with industry experts. You lead all legal structuring:
          • Partnership agreements for current and future ventures (BPObox with Marco Barrios, InterpretIQ with Manfred Alvarez, Marco Barrios, and Kerry, ProSchool LLC with Jalaj Desai)
          • Shareholder agreements, joint venture agreements, operating agreements
          • Technology credit investment documentation ? ensuring tech credits are properly documented as equity consideration with defensible valuations
          • Due diligence on investment targets and partnership opportunities
          • Advising on equity structures, vesting, anti-dilution, drag-along/tag-along, and exit mechanisms
          • Supporting external fundraising if portfolio companies raise capital </li></ul> DISPUTE RESOLUTION
            • First responder for all legal disputes: client claims, vendor disagreements, employee grievances, partnership issues, regulatory actions
            • Assessing disputes quickly: severity, financial exposure, likelihood of escalation, recommended response
            • Managing pre-litigation resolution through negotiation, mediation, and settlement
            • Engaging and managing external litigation counsel when matters require court representation
            • Managing collection actions for unpaid invoices
            • Conducting post-dispute analysis to prevent recurrence </li></ul> DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
              • Compliance with India?s DPDP Act, UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, and US state privacy laws (CCPA/CPRA)
              • Privacy policies for all public-facing websites and applications
              • Data processing agreements with vendors and clients handling personal data
              • Data breach response protocol
              • Domain-specific guidance: student data (ProSchool), candidate data (Haire), healthcare-adjacent data (InterpretIQ), entertainment talent data (All Talent) </li></ul> GOVERNANCE, POLICY, AND CEO ADVISORY
                • Corporate governance: board meetings, minutes, resolutions, signing authority matrices
                • Corporate policies: anti-corruption, whistleblower, conflict of interest, related party transactions, document retention
                • Quarterly legal briefings to the CEO covering: IP portfolio status, contract pipeline, compliance posture, employment matters, active disputes, risk register updates, and emerging legal concerns
                • Legal risk register with the top risks across the Group, severity ratings, and mitigation plans
                • Legal knowledge base ? FAQ documents and process guides that allow teams to handle routine matters without involving legal for every question
                • Establishing and managing relationships with external counsel in India, UAE, and USA for specialized matters (patent prosecution, litigation, tax disputes, immigration) </li></ul> Managing the Junior Counsel / Paralegal You will have one Junior Legal Counsel or Paralegal reporting to you. You are responsible for:
                  • Delegating research, drafting, filing, and administrative tasks effectively
                  • Reviewing the junior?s work product before it goes to stakeholders or gets filed
                  • Setting priorities and managing the junior?s workload to ensure nothing falls through the cracks
                  • Developing the junior?s legal skills and judgment over time </li></ul> You set the direction. They handle the volume. You review everything that matters. What We Are Looking For

                    REQUIRED

                    • LLB or equivalent law degree from a recognized Indian university. LLM (Corporate, IP, or Commercial) is strongly preferred.
                    • Enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of India
                    • 8-15 years of post-qualification experience spanning corporate, commercial, and intellectual property law
                    • Demonstrated experience across multiple legal disciplines: contract drafting and negotiation, corporate compliance, IP protection, employment law, and deal structuring
                    • Trademark registration and prosecution experience in India (international experience is a strong plus)
                    • Working knowledge of patent processes ? either direct filing experience or experience managing external patent counsel
                    • Strong understanding of Indian corporate law (Companies Act 2013), Indian IP laws (Patents Act 1970, Trade Marks Act 1999, Copyright Act 1957), and Indian employment law
                    • Experience working across multiple jurisdictions or with multi-entity corporate structures
                    • Ability to provide practical, commercially-minded legal advice ? structuring solutions, not just flagging risks
                    • Excellent written and verbal communication in English ? contracts, patent documentation, policies, and CEO communications must be clear, precise, and professional
                    • Comfortable managing a direct report and delegating effectively </li></ul> PREFERRED
                      • In-house experience at a technology company, ideally with a multi-product portfolio
                      • Registration as a Patent Agent with the Indian Patent Office
                      • Background in computer science, engineering, or a technical discipline in addition to law
                      • Cross-border experience with UAE and/or US legal systems
                      • Familiarity with UAE free zone regulations (DSOA, DIFC, DAFZA, or similar)
                      • Experience with software patents and AI/ML-related patent claims
                      • Experience supporting M&A, investment, or partnership transactions
                      • Familiarity with data protection frameworks across multiple jurisdictions
                      • Experience with open-source licensing and compliance </li></ul> THE RIGHT PERSON
                        • Operates across the full legal spectrum without needing a team of specialists behind them ? comfortable switching from a trademark filing in the morning to a partnership term sheet at lunch to an employment dispute in the afternoon
                        • Is commercially minded first and legally qualified second ? understands that legal exists to enable business, not to create friction
                        • Works fast ? a 2-day NDA turnaround and a 3-day MSA turnaround are the standard, not the exception
                        • Has strong judgment about when to push back on risk and when to find a way through ? the CEO does not want a lawyer who says no to everything; he wants a lawyer who says ?here is how we do it safely?
                        • Can work with engineers ? understands how software is built well enough to identify patentable innovations and draft meaningful IP documentation
                        • Is proactive ? identifies legal gaps and fixes them before they become problems, not after
                        • Is comfortable being the most senior legal person in the room with no one above them except the CEO
                        • Can manage a junior team member effectively ? delegates the right work, reviews efficiently, and develops their skills
                        • Is energized by variety and pace ? this is a high-growth environment where the legal landscape changes as the company scales