National Head - Legal & Recovery

Objective (Purpose of the Job)

Lead and manage the company’s end-to-end legal recovery function across secured and unsecured products (PL, CD, TW, LAP, etc.) to maximize resolution of default portfolios through compliant, efficient, and time-bound legal actions. Build strong national governance, ensure accurate case filings, partner with external legal networks, and drive disciplined execution to safeguard company assets and optimize loss recovery.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Strategy & Governance

• Develop and implement a national legal recovery strategy across secured and unsecured portfolios to maximize recoveries and minimize write-offs.
• Establish legal process governance, documentation frameworks, panel empanelment standards, and compliance protocols across states.
• Define and monitor SOPs for case selection, filing, escalation, settlements, and closure for each product line.

Case Management & Execution

• Oversee end-to-end execution of legal actions including Section 138, Arbitration, SARFAESI, civil suits, criminal complaints, and repossession (where applicable).
• Ensure timely filing, accurate documentation, quality of pleadings, and defect-free case submissions across courts and tribunals.
• Drive disciplined follow-up on hearings, decrees, warrants, recoveries, repossessions, and auction proceedings.

Portfolio & Performance Management

• Analyze portfolio performance to identify trends, high-risk segments, and legal leverage opportunities across geographies.
• Own monthly targets for filings, decrees, recoveries, settlements, SARFAESI progress, and asset disposal for secured portfolios.
• Work closely with Collections to align legal actions with field strategy and pre-legal interventions.

Vendor & External Counsel Management

• Build and manage a national network of legal firms, advocates, collection agencies, and repossession vendors.
• Define performance SLAs, cost structures, quality parameters, and onboarding/offboarding governance.
• Evaluate and negotiate commercial arrangements to ensure cost-effective operations and high-quality representation.

Compliance, Audit & Regulatory Adherence

• Ensure all actions adhere strictly to RBI guidelines, company policies, fair practices code, and state-specific laws.
• Coordinate with Compliance, Audit, and Risk to close observations and strengthen controls.
• Maintain defensible documentation and audit trails for all actions.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead national and regional recovery & legal teams, ensuring capability building, performance management, and succession planning.
• Conduct regular training on documentation, case filing, recovery laws, SARFAESI processes, and repossession protocols.
• Foster a culture of discipline, governance, and ethical recovery practices across the network.

Work Relations (Jobs / Positions and Cooperation Activities)

Within The Company

• Collaborates with Chief Risk Officer, Head Collections, Legal, Fraud Control, Operations, and Compliance.
• Partners with Finance for provisioning, write-off decisions, decrees, and settlements.
• Works with product heads (PL, CD, TW, LAP) on product-specific legal strategies.
• Coordinates with Field Collections teams to plan joint legal + physical recovery actions.