Pearls On, Gloves Off #60 - No-Redline Revolution: Redefining In-House Legal with Rippling GC Vanessa Wu
In this episode, Mary sits down with Vanessa Wu, the General Counsel at Rippling—a fast-growing platform unifying HR, IT, finance, and more for businesses around the globe. From eliminating contract negotiations by design to harnessing AI for everyday legal work, Vanessa shares how she’s freeing up her team for the most important, high-level tasks. She also opens up about navigating a crisis when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and Rippling had to hustle a weekend financing—all thanks to smart “North Star” planning long before the alarm bells rang.
Topics:
- Maintaining a “no-redline” policy for 20,000+ customers—and why sales loves it
- How fresh thinking on AI (and a PowerPoint from a 9-year-old!) sparked new ways of working
- Why planned redundancy and constant readiness saved Rippling’s payroll operations
- Rethinking the legal team’s role as a “future-forward” function rather than a cost center
- Fostering curiosity and encouraging experimentation—especially when it feels like “cheating”
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