Legal Counsel - Commercial, Contracts & Compliance

Meinigar Technologies Pvt Ltd

Job Description

Position Title: Legal Counsel - Commercial, Contracts & Compliance

Job Location: Remote 

Reporting To: Co-Founders

Experience required: 3 - 4 Years PQE (in-house or law firm)

Employment Type: Full-time

Team: Legal - first dedicated legal hire; currently managed by Co-Founders

About Stockarea:

Stockarea (Meinigar Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) is India's tech-enabled 3PL warehousing and contract logistics platform operating 100+ warehouses across 23+ cities. We serve brands across solar, FMCG, e-commerce, automotive, pharma and industrial sectors — providing multi-client and dedicated warehousing, inventory management, fulfilment, last-mile coordination and value added logistics services.

We are post-seed, actively building towards Series A, and scaling operations across new cities and client verticals. The legal function is being built from the ground up — this is a founding legal role with direct access to the Co-Founders.

Why This Role Exists:

Stockarea operates at the intersection of real estate (warehouse leases), commercial contracts (client MSAs, SLAs, SOWs), vendor management (transporters, labour contractors, technology vendors), regulatory compliance (labour laws, GST, warehousing regulations) and dispute resolution (client debit notes, vendor defaults, landlord disputes). The business needs a single legal mind who can handle the full spectrum — from drafting a warehousing services agreement to managing a recovery notice to advising on a regulatory inspection.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Commercial Contracts & Agreement Management

Draft, review and negotiate the full range of Stockarea agreements:

Client-side: Master Warehouse Services & Operations Agreements (MSAs) with clients

Location Annexures, SLAs, SOWs, Rate Cards and Amendment Letters

Landlord-side: Warehouse lease/licence agreements, leave & licence, lock-in and exit terms

Vendor-side: Transporter agreements, labour contractor agreements, manpower supplier terms

Tech: Technology vendor MSAs (WMS, ERP, fleet management)

Review commercial terms with focus on: indemnities, limitation of liability, insurance obligations, SLA penalties, termination and exit costs, force majeure, lien rights over stored goods, and dispute resolution clauses.

Maintain a contract repository and renewal tracker - flag upcoming renewals, lock-in expiries and auto-renewal deadlines.

2. Dispute Resolution & Recovery

Manage commercial disputes: client debit notes for stock damage/loss/shortage, vendor payment defaults, landlord security deposit recoveries, transporter claims.

Draft and issue legal notices, demand letters, settlement proposals and reply notices.

Coordinate with external counsel for litigation, arbitration (SIAC, ad hoc), Section 9/11 applications and enforcement proceedings.

Handle insolvency-related matters - protective filings, operational creditor claims under IBC if client/vendor enters CIRP.

Manage cheque bounce cases (NI Act Sec. 138) against defaulting clients/vendors.

3. Regulatory & Compliance Advisory

Advise on warehousing-specific regulations: Essential Commodities Act, Warehousing (Development & Regulation) Act, State APMC laws, FSSAI (food storage), Drug & Cosmetics Act (pharma storage), Pollution Control Board (PCB) consents.

Labour law compliance across 23+ cities: Contract Labour Act (CLRA), Minimum Wages, PF/ESI, Shops & Establishments, Building & Other Construction Workers — coordinate with HR and ops.
GST advisory on warehousing services, e-way bill compliance, place-of-supply rules for multi-state operations.

Insurance advisory: stock-in-transit, warehouse all-risk, employer's liability, 4PL back-to back liability structuring.

Data privacy: basic DPDP Act readiness — employee data, CCTV, biometric attendance, client data handling clauses in MSAs.

4. Corporate & Investor Relations Support

Support Series A fundraise documentation: SHA, SSA, term sheet review, due diligence responses.

Maintain statutory corporate records: board resolutions, annual filings, ROC compliance (Meinigar Technologies + Logiwiz Logistics).

Review and negotiate investor-side agreements, OCRPS/CCD terms, founder vesting and IP assignment.

5. Operational Legal Support

Advise warehouse operations teams on: goods lien rights, liability for stock damage (fire, flood, theft, pest), handover/takeover documentation, client exit protocols.

Draft and standardise SOPs for: incident reporting (stock loss/damage), FIR filing support, insurance claim documentation, client dispute escalation.

Support new warehouse onboarding: lease review, local regulatory clearances (fire NOC, PCB consent, trade licence, Gumasta), landlord negotiations.

1. Education: BBA LL.B (5-year integrated) or LL.B from a recognised university

2. Bar Enrolment: Enrolled with the Bar Council of India

3. Contract Drafting: Independently draft and negotiate complex commercial agreements — MSAs, leases, vendor terms

4. Dispute Resolution: Hands-on experience with commercial litigation, arbitration and recovery proceedings

5. Regulatory: Working knowledge of labour laws, GST, warehousing regulations (preferred)

6. Cross-Border: Exposure to international trade or multi-jurisdictional matters is a plus (not mandatory)

7. Languages: English (mandatory); Hindi (required for operations coordination); French/Italian (bonus)