Sutirtha Sengupta
Legal Counsel
Skills: Legal Operations, Corporate Governance, Commercial Deal Structuring, Contracts Drafting, Compliance Management and Litigation support.
Profile Summary
LL.M professional with over 10 years of commendable success in Legal Operations, Advisory Services, Commercial Deal Structuring & Execution
Resourceful with the capability to assess the legal issues and produce professional results while adhering to rigid guidelines
Possess extensive exposure in preparing various Contracts /Agreements
Skilled at drafting petitions, legal representations, request for proposals (RFPs) & other legal documents as an integral part of practicing law
In-depth understanding of Competition/Anti-trust Laws, Product Liability Laws, Consumer Protection Laws, Intellectual Property Laws, Privacy Laws, Bankruptcy & Insolvency Laws and Advertising & Marketing Laws
Comprehensive experience in developing procedures, service standards as well as operational legal policies involving extensive planning & implementation of effective control measure
Extensive exposure in developing audit-based compliance repository to manage internal compliances of the company
Effective communicator with exceptional relationship management skills
Since Sep’13 with Canon India Pvt. Ltd., NCT, as Legal Counsel
Key Result Areas:
Spearheading legal matters by instituting systems & practices to secure best interests of the organization
Structuring, drafting & vetting various legal documents such as Reply to Notices, Deeds, Affidavits, Undertakings, MOUs, Power of Attorneys, Declarations, as well as Agency, Service, Confidentiality & other Commercial Agreements (Software Licensing Agreements, Application Development Agreements, Dealer & Distributor Agreements, Channel Financing Agreements, Hardware Leasing Agreements, Product Distribution Agreements, Property Lease/Leave & License Agreements, General Procurement Agreements, Works Contract and General Service Agreements)
Finalizing terms & conditions of commercial agreements to ensure compliance with negotiated parameters
Conducting extensive research work on various legal issues, identifying laws, and preparing research memos;
Organizing legal awareness training for sales and marketing teams and other support functions across PAN India locations covering various legal aspects such as product liability, anti-trust, (collusive bidding, resale price maintenance, price fixing & territory allocation), general principles of contract, copyright, privacy & confidentiality management.
Reviewing RFPs and Tender Documents to determine the various risk areas and support the business in understanding the terms and implications thereof
Managing issues pertaining to Company’s brand usage and evaluate the marketing collaterals from Legal Metrology, Product Liability and Competition Law perspective
Administering procedural formalities pertaining to application for Registration of Trademark
Preparing Reports on various legal updates/landmark judgements and informing the management about the same
Coordinating with the enterprise sales team on the hardware leasing arrangement along with various software solutions deployment and successfully negotiating high value commercial deals for the company with limited liability exposure
Working on various legal & statutory matters like preparation of legal representations on product labelling and distribution requirements from Legal Metrology Act perspective
Supervising matters related with due diligence required by various regulatory bodies
Feb’12 to Aug’13 with Lexplosion Solutions Pvt. Ltd., as Manager Legal
Conducted legal due diligence. Primarily involved in drafting legal memorandum, vetting/reviewing/drafting various commercial agreements such as software license agreement (in a channel framework), supply agreement, services agreement, NDAs, SOWs, vendor agreements etc., and reviewing/preparing regulatory inventory & compliance analysis report.
Jun’12 to Aug’13 with Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd., as Legal Consultant (on Secondment from Lexplosion Solutions Pvt. Ltd.)
Consultant (LCA), Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd: Actively involved in setting up Microsoft Regional Operating Center. Reviewed and vetted software licensing agreements (in a channel framework) which include volume licensing agreements, business and services agreements, channel partner agreements, etc. Drafted and reviewed vendor contracts for warehousing, manufacturing and custom brokerage services. Addressed business challenges by identifying and mitigating risks and help business in closing deals with partners and vendors.
Oct’10 to Feb’12 to CPA Global Services Pvt. Ltd., Location as Sr. Legal Analyst
Worked on case/deposition summaries and due diligence reports.
Reviewed and vetted service agreements/MSAs, SOWs, software licensing agreement, NDAs, supply agreement and engagement letter for major US corporations; prepared case/deposition summaries and due diligence reports for various overseas clients; developed regulatory inventory on procurement lobbying activities for a major US corporation in the food processing sector, records retention policies across various geographies for a major UK company in the banking and finance sector, and employment laws in Vietnam for a major Scandinavian company in the telecom sector.
Conducted research and drafted motions/memos on issues framed.
Areas covered:
• Opposition to demurer
• Motion to compel discovery responses and requests for sanctions
• Motion to strike
• Motion for summary judgement and summary adjudication
• Motion for leave to file cross complaint
• Motion to Compel Discovery Responses and
• Monetary Sanctions
• Opposition to demurer
Dec’07 to Aug’09 with Corporate Executive Board India Pvt. Ltd., as Research Associate
Developed analytical skills in scoping projects by identifying distinct trends in research work.
Conducted primary and secondary research to address tactical and strategic member and client challenges related to contract management, legal department management, corporate governance, risk management and other emerging legal issues.
Summary of Projects:
Compiled case filings data from across US courts and combined it with media coverage of corporate litigation in order to develop indices of the litigatory and reputational media risks facing individual industries.
Collected relevant information on legal requirements and compliance issues on key geographies. Carried out extensive secondary research to identify best available sources of information on countries around the globe to make a list of most investor friendly zones based on compliance requirements.
Developed project management framework on improving legal crisis readiness and developing records retention schedule, to help legal heads/departments of midsized companies to scope, customize and manage work plans. Apart from helping them develop a customized project plan, this initiative was also aimed at providing guidance on what sub tasks need to be accomplished. Further, it also provided supporting resources in terms of tools, checklists, guidebooks to help the legal department accomplish these tasks.
Developed a training module to provide labor and employment training to business unit heads and non legal department staff on the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Equal Employment Opportunity laws.
Managed peer groups on Asia and Europe Operations, articulated strategic member challenges on a wide array of topics ranging from corporate governance disclosure practices, IP compliance obligations, electronic contracting, money laundering regulations, trade practices compliance etc. and suggested best practices to effectively address these challenges through high quality research reports and tools.
Aug’07 to Nov’07 with Turnkey Software Projects Limited, Kolkata as Trainee
Developed web based content by researching, writing, gathering, organizing, and editing information for publication on websites.
Nov’06 to Jul’07 with Alipore Judges Court, Kolkata as Junior Counsel
Enrolled as an advocate in the rolls of the State Bar Council of West Bengal. Drafted and reviewed commercial agreements, represented clients in court, assisted corporate houses in business transactions and other legal proceedings.
Academic Details
Master of Laws (LLM) in International Trade & Commercial Law from Durham University, United Kingdom in 2010
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Calcutta University, Department of Law in 2006
Extracurricular activities
Attended conference on Foreign Policy Strategies in Contemporary International Relations organized by Institute of Cultural Diplomacy in association with Cambridge Union Society, United Kingdom
Freelance journalist for The Statesman and The Telegraph