If Then Podcast

We're back with a vengeance! The pod reignites in a conversation with Sophia Goldberg, payments expert, entrepreneur and the author of the newly launched Field Guide to Global Payments and overview of the industry that underpins the modern globalized economy. Sophia's book is immediately an essential text for anyone working in payments, fintech, financial services or looking to break into such a role or gain a greater understanding of payment networks around the world. Sophia and I chat through some practical applications of payments over the years, and how considerations like identity, fraud, and risk management come into play when sending funds from A to B. If you want to find out what a knucklebuster is, this pod is a must listen! Then head over to Amazon to. buy yourself a copy.

2022 is the year of the DAO! This week I'm very pleased to be joined by Dane Lund of Alliance, a Web3 accelerator and founder community helping startups launch their businesses through resources, partnerships, and providing a network of Web3 domain experts. Dane is a Core Contributor and the Chief DAO Architect. He helps DAOs think through concepts on structure, governance, and generally effectively managing their goals.  But what even is a DAO, and why do they exist? Dane takes us through different legal structures DAOs are using today, where the intersection of DAOs and the physical world most often butts heads, we talk about some of his favorite DAOs operating today, and we workshop my pitch for a Casual Carpool DAO to organize around commuters to the extent that's still at thing.  Find Dane on Twitter @lund_dane and DM him your DAO questions!

Timing is everything, and that's why I'm Super Pumped to be joined on the podcast by Caitlin O'Neill, a career-long Public Policy and Government Affairs professional currently working at Strategies 360, a public affairs and communications firm. Before she was a consultant, Caitlin spent years working in house at technology companies in emerging regulatory markets, including Uber in the early days of its national expansion, and Eaze on the heels of recreational legalization in California. Caitlin has served as the face of these innovative companies in front of regulators, legislatures, and policymakers, and has some key thoughts on how and when early stage companies should engage with government. (Spoiler alert: EARLY). This is a great episode so tune in. 

Anna Berces, Assistant General Counsel of home insurtech Hippo, joins the show to discuss milestones and mental health in the progression of a legal career in Biglaw and tech. Anna discusses her time on Latham & Watkins' Associates Committee, where she saw the inner-workings of the firm's People Management first hand.  She takes us through big feather-in-her-cap moments like going to trial, going through an acquisition, and taking a company public through a SPAC, and broadening her legal skills with new roles. She discusses how those moments impacted her mental state, her health, and her self-reflection on what she wants out of a legal career.  Lastly, we talk about how Hippo uses technology and aligned incentives to save itself and its clients money.  Find Anna on LinkedIn, check out Hippo.com for your home insurance needs, and head to lw.com if you'd like some very talented, very expensive attorneys. 

Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, General Counsel of DeFi institutional lending protocol Maple Finance, joins the show to discuss Maple's goal to be the dominant institutional capital network for crypto. Katherine walks us through her path, starting with a letter to a college newspaper netting her a scholarship to USC, how she took to investigations and white collar defense, and how an interest in blockchain technology led her to build a crypto practice within her firm before eventually leaving the nest to define Maple's legal strategy. Maple Finance is an undercollateralized lender -- a set of smart contracts that joins lenders, borrows, and delegates who underwrite the loans. You can reach Katherine on LinkedIn or check out maple.finance

Product Counsel at Lithic and author of the questionably capitalized FinTech Law TL;DR newsletter Reggie Young joins the podcast to talk thinking through new problems in old institutions, how to enable growth as a Product Counsel, card issuing APIs, and how content creation - in particular writing - can be one the best ways to keep learning and gain expertise. He also gives us his thoughts on how Michael Scott might've dealt with the whole Juicero situation.  Check out Reggie's newsletter fintechtldr.substack.com or find him on Twitter @reggiecyoung.  Check out one of Reggies favorite books "Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel.

Privacy and blockchain attorney Shahab Asghar of Scale LLP joins to the show to talk staying ahead of the curve, getting into privacy law and the cryptocurrency industry well before those proved to be hot sectors, how career changes can be vectors for continuous learning, how an in-house counsel can make their mark on their company's product.  He also has some choice words for Reese Witherspoon, and may have given us the crypto version of the classic "Point Break" storyline. You can reach Shahab at sasghar@scalefirm.com or on twitter @theshasghar.

PwC technology counsel Ryan T joins the show to talk moving from Biglaw into the Big Four, teach me what "the Printer" is, walk us through PwC's role in the infamous Lala Land / Moonlight Oscars snafu, and give his takes on the classic Tom Cruise legal thriller, The Firm. 

Feel the anticipation, the If Then Podcast is nigh.  If Then is a legal community of legal and regulatory experts who help founders and builders drive their business forward by navigating regulatory waters. In this podcast we tap into our community to hear stories, strategies, and analysis from Legal Wayfinders, folks who have adopted a growth mindset and are willing to share their knowledge.  Stay tuned, while If Then helps make legal strategy your competitive advantage.