Your vendors' riskis your risk,on paper too.
SIRI Law LLP structures vendor risk management programmes so that the contracts actually reflect and control the risk your vendors introduce.
- Free first consultation
- DPDP Act aligned
- Fixed-fee packages available
- Hyderabad and online
Third-Party & Vendor Risk Management
A vendor risk assessment questionnaire is only useful if the contract actually requires the vendor to maintain what they attested to, and to tell you when something changes. Most vendor risk programmes stop at the questionnaire and never reach the contract.
Companies with a vendor risk programme
Turning your risk assessment findings into contractual obligations.
Companies building a vendor risk programme
Structuring the contractual framework alongside your assessment process.
Companies with critical vendor dependencies
Contracts that address what happens when a critical vendor fails or is breached.
Companies subject to regulatory vendor oversight expectations
Vendor management that satisfies regulator expectations for outsourcing oversight.
Roadmap
Where we help, from onboarding to offboarding.
Vendor risk should be managed through the full relationship, not just at signing.
- 01Pre-engagement
Assess before contracting
Risk assessment findings should shape the contract, not sit separately from it.
- Security and privacy questionnaire review
- Risk tiering based on data access and criticality
- Contractual requirements matched to assessed risk level
- Fourth-party and sub-processor disclosure requirements
- 02Onboarding
Contract the relationship
The contract is what makes assessment findings enforceable.
- Data processing agreements matched to actual data flows
- Security control requirements and attestation obligations
- Breach notification timelines and requirements
- Right-to-audit provisions where appropriate
- 03Ongoing
Monitor through the relationship
Vendor risk changes over time, and the contract should keep pace.
- Periodic reassessment rights and processes
- Notification requirements for material changes to vendor operations
- Incident and breach response coordination
- 04Offboarding
Exit cleanly
Ending a vendor relationship needs its own risk management.
- Data return and deletion obligations on termination
- Transition assistance requirements
- Confirmation of compliance with exit obligations
What we do
Vendor risk, built into the contract.
Turning your risk assessment process into enforceable terms.
Data processing agreements
Contracts governing how vendors handle personal data on your behalf.
- DPAs
- Data processing
- Vendors
Security and privacy contract terms
Building security and privacy requirements directly into vendor contracts.
- Security terms
- Privacy
- Contracts
Fourth-party risk provisions
Requiring disclosure and appropriate flow-down of obligations to your vendors' own vendors.
- Fourth parties
- Sub-processors
- Disclosure
Vendor breach notification terms
Contractual obligations requiring vendors to notify you promptly of security incidents.
- Breach notification
- Vendors
- Incidents
Right-to-audit clauses
Negotiating audit rights that are actually meaningful and exercisable.
- Audit rights
- Verification
- Oversight
Vendor offboarding terms
Data return, deletion and transition obligations when a vendor relationship ends.
- Offboarding
- Data return
- Transition
Where we come in
Five mistakes we often see.
Each one leaves a gap between what was assessed and what is actually enforceable.
Risk assessment findings that never reach the contract
A vendor's questionnaire answers mean little if the contract does not require them to maintain those controls or tell you if they change.
No fourth-party disclosure requirements
Your vendor's own vendors can be where a breach originates, and without disclosure requirements you may not even know they exist.
Generic breach notification clauses
A notification clause without a specific timeline and process often results in delayed or informal notification when an actual incident occurs.
Right-to-audit clauses no one ever exercises
An audit right that is never actually used provides little real assurance, and the clause itself needs to be practically exercisable.
No offboarding data return requirements
Without clear termination obligations, vendor relationships can end with your data still sitting in a system you no longer control.
Ready to start?
Building or strengthening your vendor risk programme? Call for a free first consultation.
Tell us about your vendor landscape and we will flag what needs attention. Calls are answered by an advocate.
Why companies choose us
We connect assessment to enforcement.
Retain us for a single matter or for the long run. Either way you deal with the same accountable team.
Contract-first approach
We make sure your risk assessment process translates into terms you can actually enforce.
DPDP Act fluency
Data processing terms built on India's current data protection framework.
Practical, negotiable terms
Contract language that vendors will actually agree to, not aspirational terms that stall every negotiation.
Google reviews
See what our clients say on Google.
We would rather you read independent reviews than take our word for it. Every review is on our Google Business Profile.
Questions
Common questions.
General information only, not legal advice. Every situation differs, so speak to us about yours.
What should a data processing agreement cover?
Scope of processing, security obligations, breach notification, sub-processor terms, and data return or deletion obligations on termination.
We draft or review these to match your actual data flows with each vendor.
How do we manage fourth-party risk?
Through contractual requirements that your vendors disclose their own critical sub-processors and flow down appropriate obligations to them.
This is often the most overlooked layer of vendor risk.
Should every vendor contract have the same terms?
No, terms should be tiered based on the actual risk a vendor presents, particularly the sensitivity of data they access and how critical they are to your operations.
We help you build this tiering into your standard contract templates.
What should happen when a vendor relationship ends?
Clear obligations for data return or deletion, transition assistance where needed, and confirmation that these obligations have been met.
This should be addressed in the original contract, not negotiated for the first time at termination.
Do we need right-to-audit clauses for every vendor?
This depends on the vendor's risk tier. For lower-risk vendors, other mechanisms like security attestations may be more proportionate.
We help you decide where audit rights are actually worth negotiating.
How much does this cost?
Fixed-fee packages are available for building standard contract templates. Individual vendor negotiations are scoped separately.
Fees are agreed in writing before work starts.
Related
Often needed alongside.
Vendor risk management often connects to these services too.
Data Privacy & Cyber Law
DPDP Act, GDPR and breach response.
Explore
Cloud Security
Cloud infrastructure legal advisory.
Explore
SOC 2 Readiness
Type I and Type II readiness.
Explore
Contract Disputes
Commercial contract breach and enforcement.
Explore
Free first consultation
Tell us about your vendor matter.
High level is fine. We check conflicts, tell you honestly whether we can help, and what it would cost. You decide, with no pressure.
- Call+91 79819 12046
- WhatsAppMessage us on WhatsApp
- Emailinfo@sirilawllp.com
- HoursMon–Sat, 9:30 AM–7:00 PM IST. Incident line 24/7.
- Existing client?Message your named lead directly, or use the incident line for anything urgent.
Thank you. We have your enquiry.
A member of our team will be in touch within one working day. For anything urgent, call +91 79819 12046.
Visit us
Find our offices.
HITEC City, Madhapur, Hyderabad, Telangana 500081
Mon to Sat, 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM IST · Meetings by appointment · Online consultations worldwide