The Abstract

How do you transition into a legal ops role? What are the new and exciting opportunities for legal professionals without a law degree? How will the legal operations community trailblaze a path for in-house counsels and law firms into the future of business?Tommie Tavares-Ferreira, Head of Legal Ops at Cedar and Tom Stephenson, Vice President of Community and Legal Ops at Legal.io, have an expert understanding of both the legal ops industry and the diverse channels that professionals can take to arrive in the field. Not only are they the hosts of the Dear Legal Ops podcast, but they have arrived via their own journeys from big law firm paralegals and HBO contract manager to running legal ops at major businesses like Credit Karma, Rakuten, and Peloton.Hear Tommie and Tom as they discuss the benefits for ambitious professionals to transition into a legal ops role, how to balance your business skill set with a strategic legal mindset, career paths beyond legal ops, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-36Topics:Introduction: 0:00Transitioning from paralegal to legal ops: 2:30Coming into legal ops from a contract management background: 5:22Shifting your mindset from legal specialization to business strategy: 8:38Debating whether legal ops is the right career path for everyone: 12:38Establishing trust with stakeholders across the broader business: 15:50Managing a legal ops department: 19:10Maintaining a strong relationship with your general counsel: 23:59Balancing your business expertise with your GC’s legal strategy: 31:01The importance of placing the head of legal ops on the GC’s leadership team: 36:04Considering career moves beyond legal ops: 38:48Transitioning from legal ops to executive roles: 43:15Presenting at CLOC 2024: 49:11Connect with us:Tommie Tavares-Ferreira - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommie/Tom Stephenson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tstephenson1/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you build a personal brand on LinkedIn that strengthens your ties to the legal community, grows your network, and even helps other lawyers? And how do you convert that brand into a successful and rewarding consulting business with an impressive client base?Brittany Leonard, General Counsel at Civix, started her journey to LinkedIn legal community influencer at the beginning of the pandemic, and went from a single post with minor engagement to an in-house advice powerhouse with more than 26,000 followers. Now she runs a successful consulting business where she trains GCs and businesses to understand the power of a personal brand to get new clients and grow revenue.Hear Brittany as she shares tips for growing your own presence on LinkedIn, starting a consulting business, breaking out of the networking-event malaise, dealing with abusive workplaces, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-35 Topics:Introduction: 0:00Starting your career in local government before entering law school: 2:24Finding a path to your first general counsel role: 3:54Approaching the GC role with a business mindset: 10:03Rebuilding your confidence after working under an abusive boss: 11:43Building a personal brand on LinkedIn: 16:34Advice to lawyers who have never posted on LinkedIn before: 19:39Launching a consulting business on the back of your social presence: 24:54Tips for creating your own business: 28:22Book recommendations: 29:36What you wish you had known as a young lawyer: 32:08Annual Compensation Report: https://salary-report.spotdraft.com/Connect with us:Brittany Leonard - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-leonard-b3a7b2a4/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you approach, accept, and move on from career transitions, both planned and unexpected? What does it take to transition from decades in public service to roles leading legal at tech startups and law firms? And how can you leverage your network to bounce back after an unexpected layoff?S. Michael Lee, General Counsel and COO at Engaging.ai, has conquered many of these tense moments. Starting his career as the first Korean-American prosecutor in the Santa Clara County DA’s Office, he brought lessons learned from his experience as a trial attorney to his second chapter as an in-house counsel and—eventually—legal and business leader.Hear Michael as he discusses why your network is essential to finding your next role, why you shouldn’t limit yourself or your job prospects, and the importance of honoring your roots in your professional life,Annual Compensation Report: https://salary-report.spotdraft.com/Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-34 Topics:Introduction: 0:00Honouring your connection to the Korean American community: 2:40Finding inspiration in your community to work in public service as a prosecutor: 5:36Applying lessons learned as a prosecutor to the private sector: 11:36Finding an in-house role after building your career in public service: 12:57Advice to lawyers in government service trying to move into the private sector: 14:37Networking to advance your career: 16:57Dealing with layoffs at Blind: 20:40Taking on a new GC and COO role at Engaging.ai: 25:04Advice to lawyers looking for new positions: 26:52Book recommendation: 28:19What you wish you’d known as a young lawyer: 29:02Connect with us:S. Michael Lee - https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-michael-lee-27ab86/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you leverage your legal career to launch your own consultancy? What are the winning tactics to be an effective in-house lawyer? Is it possible to merge your love of science with your passion for law?Lisa Taylor Ash, General Counsel at Shape Therapeutics, has the answer to all of your questions. After leading two different legal teams through major acquisitions, starting her own consulting firm, and returning to the GC role, Lisa created effectiveinhouse.com, a website that features legal tactics, samples, and interviews with top in-house counsels across a variety of industries.Hear Lisa as she explains how she was able to position her career at the forefront of cutting-edge biotech, offers practical advice for lawyers hoping to start a company, shares lessons she wishes were taught in law school, and more.Check out some of Lisa’s favorite posts from effectiveinhouse.com below:Minimize Legal Riskhttps://effectiveinhouse.com/minimize-legal-riskInterview with Brett Pletcher, Former GC of Gileadhttps://effectiveinhouse.com/interview-brett-pletcherInterview with Brandon Etheridge, GC of the Baltimore Ravenshttps://effectiveinhouse.com/interview-brandon-etheridgeRead detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-33Topics:Introduction: 0:00Leading legal through two major acquisitions: 2:48Developing personalized medicines: 8:56Lessons for lawyers dealing with M&A: 12:11Leaving large companies after an acquisition: 14 :06Launching an independent consulting firm: 15:51Offering practical advice for starting a consulting business: 19:39Returning to an in-house role at Shape Therapeutics: 24:37Legal issues related to gene editing: 30:47Building public trust in gene therapy companies: 32:57The future of AI and gene editing: 35:41Creating an essential legal resource at effectiveinhouse.com: 36:51Book recommendations: 41:35What you wish you had known as a young lawyer: 44:03Connect with us:Lisa Taylor Ash - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-taylor-ash-17b1b611/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you realign your legal career in order to break into the tech industry and product counseling? What are the major differences between headline-grabbing big tech companies and ambitious start-ups? And should the goal of every in-house counsel be a GC title?Nguyen Vu, deputy general counsel at OKX, leveraged his persistence, skills, and showmanship to redefine himself as a tech attorney. Starting off as a lawyer working in telecoms regulation, Nguyen was able to land a major product role at Apple, become the “mini GC” of digital currency at Facebook, and lead international product teams at successful fintech and crypto startups.Hear Ngyuen as he shares the valuable lessons he’s learned about regulation, consumer protection, motivating your team, steering your career in the direction you want to take it, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-32Topics:Introduction: 0:00Beginning your career during the Great Recession: 3:21Moving beyond telecoms law: 6:10Landing a dream role at Apple: 9:07Coming into your own as a product attorney: 11:44Defining the role of a product counselor: 18:45Joining Facebook’s digital currency project: 20:10Getting off of career plateaus and joining Bolt: 25:06Navigating the difficulties of managing a legal team at a start-up: 28:43Encountering “Big Company Bias”: 31:34Becoming deputy general counsel at OKX: 36:33Book recommendations: 40:10Advice to your younger self: 41:36Connect with us:Nguyen Vu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nguyentvu/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

 What challenges face the legal team at India’s largest learning platform as they expand beyond online classrooms? How do you execute one thousand new contracts a month, and still find time to problem solve and aid core function?Siddharth Manchanda, Partner at IndusLaw and External GC at Unacademy, has embraced tech and AI in order to free his team from the repetitive manual tasks borne from his company’s fast and massive growth. He’s found that increased efficiency is more than enough to shift the mindsets of traditional lawyers and business teams alike about the power and possibility  of tech solutions.Hear Siddharth as he discusses the legal perspective on India’s massive economic growth, dividing his time between an in-house and client services role, the future of legal tech, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-31Topics:Introduction: 0:00Finding inspiration to practice law: 1:20Building a career in India’s tech sector during the Great Recession: 6:40Going in-house with Unacademy: 12:59Key learnings from a first in-house GC role: 17:13Considering the perception of legal within your organization: 22:21Reflecting on the early days at Unacademy: 28:32Marketing reduced contract drafting time internally: 36:32Predicting the future of legal tech: 39:14Using tech experience to change the way you deal with clients: 46:39Balancing a GC role with a law firm partnership: 49:51Advice to companies looking to enter the Indian market: 52:27What you wish you’d know as a young lawyer 59:00Connect with us:Siddharth Manchanda - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharth-manchanda-0970801b/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How is tech changing India’s financial services industry? How do you deal with complex regulations that change as rapidly as tech products do? And how can a multinational company expand into India’s culturally, geographically, and linguistically diverse market?Hardeep Singh, General Counsel at CRED, has faced these challenges head-on. Starting his career in litigation, he moved on to in-house counsel for Uber in Delhi and helped pioneer solutions to improve the city’s public transit. Now he leads the legal team at CRED, a reward-based credit card payment app that integrates with India’s massive mobile payment system.Hear Hardeep as he shares his experiences structuring M&A deals, navigating nuanced regulations, leading legal for a dynamic design-based product, and finding motivation from solving real world problems.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-30Topics:Introduction: 1:17Launching your legal career: 1:52Switching to corporate counsel from an appellate practice in Delhi: 5:27Applying lessons from Uber to your legal leadership at CRED: 8:50Explaining CRED: 12:45Encountering a learning curve as a first-time team leader: 16:31Considering the role of legal in an organization without titles: 22:18Lessons learned from M&A at CRED: 27:46Working in India’s legal landscape: 33:37Driving communication, marketing and PR in legal: 37:15Understanding UPI, India’s unified payment interface: 39:40Advice to companies trying to expand into the Indian economy: 45:54Book recommendations: 50:23Advice to your younger self: 53:25Connect with us:Hardeep Singh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardeep-singh-863b1617/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What can a strong community offer a legal ops professional working alone within their organization? How do you deal with the stress of a chaotic project management role while fostering change? Will legal ops eventually shift away from legal and into the business and tech sphere? Jenn McCann, Director of Legal Ops at Netflix and President of the Board of Directors at CLOC can offer an expert perspective on all of these questions and more. During her term as CLOC president, she is strengthening the organizations to community, content, and conversation, and developing a legal ops framework for CLOC’s more than 7,000 members.  Hear Jenn talk about finding the courage to share your ideas, building and leaning on your community of fellow legal ops professionals, emphasizing the importance of project management, allowing change to take shape, and more.  Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-29  Topics: Introduction: 0:00Advancing the legal ops industry at CLOC as President of the Board of Directors: 3:35Getting started with CLOC: 7:22Unpacking the mindset of service and giving back: 11:21Lessons learned as CLOC president: 14:23Advice for professionals getting their start in legal ops: 17:24Hiring detail-oriented staff with stakeholder management skills: 22:07Recommending platforms for learning project management skills: 26:04Dealing with the loneliness of a one-of-one role: 30:25Legal ops as a business team vs legal ops as a legal team: 37:06Focusing on the future: 41:02Maintaining an after-hours music career: 46:47 Connect with us: Jenn McCarron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennmccarron/  Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft   SpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.  

How do executive recruiters take legal careers to the next level? What do you need to handle the transition from big-name law firm partner to a role helping people build careers of their own? How can you distinguish a good interview from a bad interview? Richard Hsu, Managing Director at Major, Lindsey & Africa and host of the Hsu Untied podcast, has expert advice to share about how to ace the job interview for executive legal roles and the podcast interview with influential thinkers like Mark Cuban and Tony Robbins.  Going deep on legal and podcasting, Richard shares essential tips on how to project confidence and say the right things when you’re face to face with a hiring manager (or celebrity) who can take your career to the next level. Listen to an episode of Richard’s Hsu Untied podcast: https://hsuuntied.com/mcuban/   Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-28   Topics: Introduction: 0:00Finding your path to becoming a law firm partner: 4:07Dealing with the stress of a big law partnership: 6:46Making the transition from law firm partner to executive recruiter: 8:45Unpacking the responsibilities of an executive recruiter: 12:25Tactical tips for legal career searchers: 16:13Interviewing legal leaders like Mark Cuban on the Hsu Untied podcast: 18:32Helping your professional development by making a podcast: 24:14Advice to lawyers who want to start a podcast: 26:56Book recommendations: 29:57What you wish you’d known as a starting lawyer: 32:29Outro:33:54  Connect with us: Richard Hsu - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardhsu/  Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft   SpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What is a general counsel’s role in international expansion? How do you balance growth with safety and compliance across diverse countries and markets? And how do you scale your legal team to take on challenges that require in-depth knowledge of local cultures, regulations, and business practices? As general counsel at Lime, Sarah Binder confronts these questions each day, as she and her legal team navigate regulations across 300 municipalities in 35 countries. Sarah, who recently located to San Francisco from the UK, has found that transparency, accessibility, and flexibility are key to working across borders (and time zones).  Listen as Sarah offers tips for effectively scaling out your legal team for international expansion.Introduction: 0:00Discussing the scope of Sarah’s GC roles at Lime and Pizza Hut UK and Europe: 4:56Effectively scaling out your team for international expansion: 07:48Tips for working across time zones without feeling burnout: 12:47Defining the role of the GC: 18:57What American execs get wrong when they expand into European markets: 24:57Guiding your team through a diverse set of regulatory bodies: 30:01Looking back on your experience with consumer product liability as a general counsel: 32:38How GCs strike a balance between growth and regulatory compliance: 37:19Book Recommendation: 40:45Outro: 44:36Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-27  Annual Compensation Report: https://salary-report.spotdraft.com/  Connect with us: Sarah Binder -https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajmahapatra/  Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft  SpotDraft is a leading CLM platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.