The Abstract

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we've pulled together some of the most vital stories from some of the star legal and business experts we've featured on The Abstract about managing stress, achieving a healthy work/life balance, dealing with tragedies at home, leaving toxic working environments and more. Keep listening and feel inspired to make a positive change in your life and career.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-98TopicsIntroduction: 0:00 Ryan Nier, General Counsel at Nova Credit on imposter syndrome and feeling like an outsider in the legal community: 0:43 Joe Sullivan, ex-Chief Security Officer at Uber, Facebook, and Cloudflare on managing the stress of a federal indictment: 6:49 Lawtrades Co-Founders Raad Ahmed and Ashish Walia on how to support your business partner during difficult times: 11:36 Dan Haley, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Guild, on balancing work and life after a cancer diagnosis: 14:07 Zoe McMahon, Head of Legal Ops at HP, on mindfulness and bringing parts of your private self into the workplace: 16:47 Laura Frederick, CEO of How to Contract on the importance of seeing a therapist: 18:59Connect with us:Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What's it like to be the first European legal hire for a fast-growing tech company? How do you build out a European legal team? And where is the European tech sector headed?Join Volker Weisshaar, General Counsel EMEA at Sonos, as he talks about establishing and scaling European legal teams for US tech giants NetApp and Sonos, and what it takes to help these companies thrive in the regulation-heavy and culturally diverse landscape of the EU.Listen as Volker discusses his approaches to hiring at NetApp and Sonos, taking on an operator function and getting your hands dirty as you build a new office, evolving your leadership style in a growing business, key differences between European and US regulations, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-97TopicsTopics Introduction 0:00Living and working in Amsterdam: 2:24Europe's tech and startup scene: 2:27What motivated Volker to become a tech lawyer: 3:44Being the first European legal hire at Sonos and NetApp: 11:10Approaches to building out a legal team: 14:54Being a lawyer and an operator: 16:52Joining Sonos: 19:01Evolving as a leader: 23:12Managing your relationship with a global CLO: 26:10"Differences between US and EU regulations: 28:48Europe's start-up scene and regulation: 34:41Biggest challenges at Sonos: 40:24Leveraging AI: 44:41Proudest accomplishments at Sonos: 47:29Rapid-fire questions: 49:07Connect with us:Volker Weisshaar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/volkerweisshaar/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you make the move from building a legal career in the US to one in Europe, scale one of Europe's hottest unicorns, and transition to launching your own start-up?Join Jordan Hatcher, co-founder, CLO, and COO of The Grid, a blockchain-based tech start-up, as he shares his experience as a Texas-born lawyer living and working across Europe in senior counsel roles at Optimizely, ARM, and Hewlett Packard before joining Staffbase as GC and ultimately co-founding his own cutting-edge Web3 company.Listen as Jordan discusses his early work writing and advocating for open data licenses, offers advice to US companies looking to build or scale in Europe, explains the value of a well-timed career break, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-96TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Living in Amsterdam: 3:08Working in IP, Web3, civil liberties law: 5:54Collaborating with engineers at HP and ARM: 8:14Open source data and standards making: 10:37A throughline from open source to Web3 Leading legal at Staffbase: 14:57Signs that you're overworking: 19:22Dual perspectives on business culture in the US and Europe: 23:40Building a business in Europe: 26:50Biggest accomplishments at Staffbase: 29:58When to leave a GC role: 31:38Taking a career break: 35:38Diving into Web3 with The Grid: 36:30Reflecting on entrepreneurship: 39:40Starting a non-profit: 46:16Raising a child with a disability: 48:56Rapid-fire questions: 53:39Connect with us:Jordan Hatcher - http://linkedin.com/in/jordanhatcher/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Where is the legal innovation space headed? Is this an area where European businesses are actually investing more deeply than their American counterparts? And how can you transition your team to focus more on innovation and a little less on the law?Join Alex Herrity, Director of Global Legal Solutions at Adidas, as he offers expert takes on the future of legal tech and legal ops, including adopting new technology like AI, leaning into change management, scaling innovations globally, and more.Listen as Alex discusses his transition from lawyer to “legal tech guy,” the growing acceptance of ops roles in inhouse legal departments, legal innovation's big moment, hosting the Law://WhatsNext podcast, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-95Topics Introduction: 0:00 A big moment for legal innovation: 2:33 Characterizing legal innovation: 5:28 From lawyer to legal ops director: 7:50 Adopting technology vs. change management: 9:12 Avoiding mistakes in legal tech: 15:41 Leading with AI: 18:52 Deciding to be a lawyer: 21:09 Becoming a “legal tech guy”: 26:18 Directing global legal ops for Adidas: 27:40 Managing teams in multiple countries: 30:54 The future of legal ops at Adidas: 34:21 Advice to future legal ops professionals: 36:50 Hosting the Law://WhatsNext podcast: 42:24 Rapid-fire questions: 46:02Connect with us:Alex Herrity - https://www.linkedin.com/in/legalopshezzle/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How important is the culture of an organization to its success? How can legal leaders cultivate high-performing cultures for their teams and their companies? And why is this something that a lot of legal teams struggle with?Join Manu Kanwar, Founder and CEO of LexSolutions, as he shares how he improves his clients' legal teams and why he focuses on strategy, culture, and relationships as the cornerstones of legal innovation.Listen as Manu discusses strategies for changing work cultures, fixing toxic situations, and maintaining a healthy self-image, why he left Yahoo! after ten years to start his own legal consulting firm, the problem with “doing more with less,” and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-94Topics Introduction 0:00Founding LexSolutions after ten years at Yahoo!: 2:07Approaches to legal innovation: 5:07Shifting cultures: 7:11The rewards and challenges of consulting: 9:44What's wrong with “do more with less?”: 12:14Why corporate culture is so hard to get right: 19:25Who is responsible for changing culture? 26:22Reinforcing psychological safety: 31:06Fixing toxic cultures: 32:38Advice to lawyers in toxic situations: 34:16Why lawyers struggle with self-image: 41:48Considering authenticity: 45:58How to connect with Manu: 52:44Rapid-fire questions: 53:07Connect with us:Manu Kanwar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkanwar/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you navigate a crisis? Data breaches, bank collapses, CEO transitions, and global recessions are just a few of the hazards that can challenge general counsels and other executives and threaten the future of their businesses. In this episode, we're sharing stories of resilience and tough lessons learned from some of the legal and business leaders who have joined us on The Abstract. Keep listening for advice that could prove handy in an emergency. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-93 TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Vanessa Wu, GC at Rippling, on surviving the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: 0:42Joe Sullivan, CEO of Joe Sullivan Security, on the personal fallout from a data breach at Uber: 7:45Heath Tarbert, Chief Legal Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs at Circle, on gaining career momentum from the great recession: 12:40Kristin Sverchek, former President of Lyft, dealing with executive roles and hiring during a crisis: 15:07Dan Haley, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Guild, on managing CEO transitions in a time of crisis: 18:25Sean West, Co-Founder at Hence Technologies, on how general counsels can get better at navigating political risks: 21:55Chelsea Grayson, Managing Partner of Corporate Restructuring at Pivot , on sitting on a corporate board during a crisis: 24:21 Connect with us: Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft SpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Can your pets inspire you and shape the direction of your career? How can practicing abroad open doors? And what personal and professional lessons can you draw from training for and completing an Ironman triathlon?Join Tim Hirsch, General Counsel at Mars Science and Diagnostics, as he talks about making transitions: from practicing law in the EU to practicing in the US; working in-house at huge companies like Mastercard to becoming Head of Legal at Collibra, a ten-person start-up; taking the leap to co-found his own business, DoggyChef; and leveraging that experience in pet care into his current role as GC at one of the biggest names in the industry.Listen as Tim discusses the different expectations on lawyers in the US versus Europe, how to have influence in a huge in-house legal team, what it takes to turn an idea into a company, operating a start-up while working full-time, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-92Topics Introduction 0:00 Starting a legal career in Europe: 4:27 Bringing a different perspective to in-house legal: 8:59 Becoming Head of Legal at Collibra: 11:25 Learning business skills on the job: 14:24 Developing the confidence to start a business: 20:02 Co-founding DoggyChef: 21:29 Moving into a GC role at Mars Petcare: 30:08 Switching between large and small organizations: 34:58 Training for an Ironman triathlon: 39:34 Rapid-fire questions: 49:36Connect with us: Tim Hirsch - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyhirsch/ Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Why is technology the right leverage point for improving how a legal team works together? What did it take to start and sustainably grow SpotDraft? And how do you transition from a more traditional legal career to one leading a legal tech business?Join Shashank Bijapur, SpotDraft's Co-Founder & CEO and Akshay Verma, SpotDraft's COO as they sit down with Tyler Finn at the SpotDraft Summit 2025 and break down their journeys from lawyers to tech executives and legal innovators.Listen as Shashank and Akshay discuss the origins of Spotdraft, offer their expert predictions on the future of legal work and AI, explain why legal operations professionals should aim for COO roles, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-91TopicsIntroduction: 0:00What inspired Shashank to start SpotDraft: 2:38Leading strong customer success teams: 4:40Approaches to fundraising: 6:38Looking back on Legal Ops at Facebook: 9:14Where is the legal ops profession headed?: 11:45Hiring a legal ops professional for COO roles: 13:06Seeing yourself as a lawyer in the business world: 15:48Building balance on an executive team: 18:19Advice to lawyers looking to pivot: 21:27How AI will evolve the way in-house teams work?: 25:06Will lawyers accept AI risks?: 27:52The future of law firms and AI: 32:50Rapid-fire questions: 38:52Connect with us:Shashank Bijapur - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashankbijapur/Akshay Verma - https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshay-verma-esq/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management needs. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you make the transition from IP lawyer to general counsel in a typical path? Help Adobe navigate a transition to the cloud, and then the AI era? And make time for your family through all the ups and downs?Join Dana Rao, former general counsel at Adobe and IP and Licensing expert at Microsoft, as he discusses how he capitalized on his electrical engineering background to skyrocket himself from a patent attorney to the forefront of some of the most consequential technology decisions of the last two decades—including topics like copyright, AI, litigation, and more.Listen as Dana explains how he became invaluable to Janet Reno's justice department, how to make ethical business decisions, influencing legislation to combat patent trolls, and more more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-91TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Relaxing and writing after retirement: 2:23Transitioning from electrical engineer to DC lawyer: 10:51Doing the right thing for your company and the world: 21:48Leaving politics to become tech counsel: 27:21Combating patent trolls: 36:03From Microsoft to Adobe general counsel: 41:42Rapid-fire questions: 51:48Connect with us:Dana Rao - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-rao/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you build a legal marketplace with more than 75,000 community members? Find the right investors to join you on the journey? And help the business navigate the inevitable pivots that will come along with its growth?Join Hannah Konitshek, COO and Founder of Legal.io, Business Operations and Strategy, as she dives deep into the business of legal tech, and how a relationship built during a hackathon transformed into the premiere marketplace for in-house legal talent.Listen as Hannah explains how attending law school in San Francisco guided her legal career, founding and growing a start-up with a legal background, how to balance your convictions with investors, and learning that the biggest risk is not taking a big enough swing.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-89TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Going into legal tech directly from law school: 2:10Do law schools prepare students for careers outside big law?: 6:25Getting started with Legal.io: 9:20Defining yourself as a “second-term founder”: 11:31Hannah on conviction and experimentation: 14:50Approaching fundraising: 19:06Advice to business leaders on pivots: 23:21How Legal.io works with AI: 28:45Upcoming trends in the legal hiring market: 30:47The future of Legal.io: 36:04Rapid-fire questions: 37:29Connect with us:Hannah Konitshek - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-konitshek/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you make the transition from federal prosecutor to security leader? Help secure some of the world's largest technology companies? And build yourself back up after being convicted by a federal jury for your company's handling of a data breach?Join Joe Sullivan, CEO of Joe Sullivan Security and the non-profit Ukraine Friends, as he reflects on the trial and sentencing he endured for a data breach at Uber to interpret the manifold challenges the chief security officers face each day.Listen as Joe shares his journey from the first full-time cyber federal prosecutor in the country to legal and security leader at eBay, Paypal, Facebook, Uber, and Cloudflare, why lawyers need to work closely with security teams, the relationship between security and privacy, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-88TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Becoming the CEO of Ukraine Friends: 2:43Getting a start in cyber: 13:55Transitioning from tech-savvy prosecutor to trust and safety at eBay and Paypal: 17:18Taking on security at Facebook: 22:20The challenges that face chief security officers: 24:03How legal teams and security can work better together: 26:23The difference between a chief security officer and a CISO: 30:03Navigating the fallout of the data breach at Uber: 32:02Working at Cloudflare during the Uber trial: 37:21Building a private security practice: 38:28Joe's biggest learnings from the trial: 44:01Rapid-fire questions: 46:08Connect with us:Joe Sullivan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joesu11ivan/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What role does integrity need to play in your company's culture? How can legal teams and corporate leaders foster it? And where do you get started if you want to write a book on it?Join Rob Chesnut, author of Intentional Integrity: How Smart Companies Can Lead an Ethical Revolution, as he discusses his path from prosecutor at the Department of Justice to tech industry legal leader at eBay, Chegg, and Airbnb, and how integrity and ethics became the cornerstone of both his career and his personal philosophy.Listen as Rob discusses scaling global legal teams for some of the biggest disruptors in the world, embedding integrity into your company's corporate culture, transitioning from general counsel to author and thought leader, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-87TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Transitioning from prosecutor to tech counsel: 2:12Joining eBay in the early years: 4:13Building eBay's trust and safety functions: 5:01Making the leap to general counsel: 7:21Reflecting on mentorship: 9:13Knowing when to move on to new opportunities: 13:13Leading legal at Airbnb: 15:50Signature interview questions: 20:56Developing the “Chief Ethics Officer” role: 23:04Writing Intentional Integrity: 32:10How a company can start their integrity program: 34:31The changing integrity landscape: 41:13How to contact Rob: 42:50Rapid-fire questions: 44:07Connect with us:Rob Chesnut - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robchesnut/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Why build a big tent community of in-house lawyers without restrictions on who can join? How do you manage the transition from in-house lawyer to founder? And can you keep space for your religious faith during the process?Join Shai Mehani, co-founder and CEO of In-House Connect, as he shares why he left his career as a corporate counsel behind to lead a thriving community of more than fifty thousand in-house lawyers that offers connection, education, professional advancement and more.Listen as Shai discusses his journey from matrimonial law to corporate counsel, transforming a regular meetup for lawyers into an extraordinary organization, finding unexpected benefits in fractional work, the best way to quit a job, and the importance of prioritizing personal faith and family over your career.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-86TopicsIntroduction: 0:00Why Shai went to law school: 2:46Starting his legal career in matrimonial law: 5:34The beginnings of In-House Connect: 12:49Expanding beyond NYC and online: 19:45Taking an inclusive big tent approach: 23:47Taking on fractional work: 30:15Going all-in on In-House Connect: 36:52The best way to quit job: 42:47Finding guidance in your faith: 46:00What's next for In-House Connect: 50:09How to contact Shai and get involved: 55:29Rapid-fire questions: 56:17Connect with us:Shai Mehani - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaimehani/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What if you never really wanted or expected to become a lawyer? How do you navigate imposter syndrome? And where do you find meaning in your work?Join Ryan Nier, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Head of People at Nova Credit, as he shares his career path from being a self-taught computer programmer who founded his own start-up to a decade as a litigation associate at a global law firm, eventually landing as a general counsel at companies with a positive impact on the world.Listen as Ryan discusses his struggles with imposter syndrome, feeling like the only person in the room with a unique background, hiring great people for roles you've never done before, and his side project of creating a documentary podcast about the time he and his brother dug up some (literal) buried gold.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-85TopicsIntroduction 0:00Starting as a software engineer: 2:17Enrolling in law school: 5:34Managing imposter syndrome: 9:58Hiring diverse talent: 16:44Why representation matters: 23:42Transitioning to in-house legal: 27:08Making the leap to general counsel: 32:22Expanding beyond legal into the people function: 39:52Creating and hosting a podcast about your family: 45:18Rapid-fire questions: 53:30Connect with us:Ryan Nier - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryannier/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Is it possible to carve out a meaningful career in law by following your passions? What's harder: building a non-profit or a business? What do lawyers have to learn from animators?Join Adam Stofsky, CEO of Briefly and founder of the New Media Advocacy Project, as he shares how he used high-production documentary video to advocate for human rights across the globe and started a company to help lawyers better communicate with their clients.Listen as Adam discusses the challenges of non-litigation career paths, founding nonprofit and for-profit companies, the trauma of human rights work, working with creative professionals like animators and voice actors, the importance of bearing witness to human rights abuses, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-84Topics:Introduction: 0:00Why Adam wanted to become a lawyer: 2:29Starting your career at Debevoise & Plimpton: 5:48Transitioning into human rights work: 7:20Founding the non-profit New Media Advocacy Project: 10:48Dealing with the challenges of human rights advocacy: 17:52Adam's biggest accomplishments at NMAP: 23:18Living on a farm in Upstate New York: 26:20Founding Briefly: 33:38Helping lawyers communicate better: 43:46Lessons from creative professionals: 47:26Expanding Briefly's customer base: 50:27Rapid-fire questions: 56:33Book recommendations: 59:20Connect with us:Adam Stofsky - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamstofsky/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What does 2025 hold for legal tech and the legal ops profession? Will legal ops ever become a standard part of every in-house legal team?Join us in this very special episode as Tyler invites Kevin Cohn, Chief Customer Officer at Brightflag, and Matt Wheatley, VP of Client Strategy at Priori, for a very special, no-holds-barred discussion about legal operations in an ever-changing industry.Listen as Matt and Kevin share their thoughts on legal ops conferences, gender and wage disparities, whether legal ops is more of a legal role or an operational role, 2025's uncomfortably tight labor market, AI disrupting the legal ops field, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-83Topics: Introduction: 0:00Working with customer advisory boards: 3:11Are there too many legal ops conferences?: 12:34Connecting GCs and legal ops professionals: 20:10Analyzing survey data: 34:52Do you need a JD?: 40:28Thoughts on hiring: 46:57AI in the legal landscape: 53:04Market consolidation: 57:19Rapid-fire questions 1:04:44Connect with us:Kevin Cohn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinacohn/Matt Wheatley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-wheatley-288146a2/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you build a fintech juggernaut and redefine how employees think about ownership in businesses, navigate regulatory roadblocks along the way, and build a global team to make it happen?Join April Lindauer, General Counsel at Carta, as she discusses her start-up's tremendous journey from 200 employees to more than 2000, as the software platform that allows users to manage equity, build businesses, and invest in the companies of tomorrow as they expand into an ever-growing list of international markets.Listen as April offers tips for working with regulators, navigating several financing rounds, building out legal operations, working with great outside partners, and hiring the perfect team, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-82Topics:Introduction: 0:00Joining Carta and overseeing tremendous growth: 1:58Cultivating a career in financial services: 4:10Carta's growth from 200 employees to 2000: 6:26Transitioning from deputy general counsel to general counsel: 8:23Hiring for a global legal team: 12:30Navigating the GC role during the COVID-19 pandemic: 14:34Working with the executive team to make tough decisions: 16:57Working with financial regulators: 18:22Leading legal through multiple financing rounds: 22:21Leveraging Carta's wealth of data: 24:21Rapid-fire questions: 27:48Book recommendations: 29:00What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 30:36Connect with us:April Lindauer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/april-lindauer-2174104/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you advise founders and learn to speak their language? Build a thriving legal community in Europe? And navigate the ups and downs of starting your own business?Join Sarah Irwin, CEO and Founder of Irish Tech GC, as she discusses her career as a consultant for tech founders, adviser for GCs looking to build better relationships with their fellow executives, angel investor, and global legal influencer.Listen as Sarah shares how she founded the Irish Tech GC community, why she decided it was time to leave her GC role behind and go all-in on her own company, how she leveraged LinkedIn to create enormous reach, and offers tips to GCs on how they can position themselves as business leaders.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-81Topics:Introduction: 0:00What inspired Sarah to be a lawyer: 2:19Assessing Dublin's start-up landscape: 7:47Working with founders at Tines: 9:44Founding the Irish Tech GC community: 12:17Seeing yourself as a founder: 15:12Deciding to go all-in on your own company: 18:31Operating a start-up and legal consulting practice: 20:01Common mistakes that GCs make when working with founders: 21:51Documenting the ups and downs of your founder journey on LinkedIn: 26:39The best and most challenging parts of being a founder: 29:07The future of Irish Tech GC: 33:01Getting in touch with Sarah: 34:31Rapid-fire questions: 35:15Connect with us:Sarah Irwin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-irwin-aa273064/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you become a leader in the privacy space? Use video and content to make privacy and the profession more accessible? And define a whole new type of privacy role?Join Ron De Jesus, Field Chief Privacy Officer at Transcend, as he shares what it's like to be the first in the compliance industry to take on his innovative new role leading dialogues and creating spaces for discussion about the future of privacy. Pulling from his experience leading privacy at dating app companies like Grindr and Tinder and fashion houses like Tapestry and Coach, Ron leads with his extensive domain knowledge and first-hand understanding of privacy-related issues.Listen as Ron discusses how he conducts interviews with privacy regulators, politicians, and activists in his video series “Field Notes,” the future of the CPO role in the age of AI, managing corporate reputations after privacy complaints, how to break into privacy without a law degree, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-80Topics: Introduction: 0:00What is a Field Chief Privacy Officer?: 1:50Producing a creative video webseries at Transcend: 6:54Experimenting with video content as a freelance privacy consultant: 12:05Coming into a role at a company dealing with privacy complaints: 15:50Managing privacy-related communications issues: 19:01Navigating a career break after alleging wrongful termination: 21:53Thinking about new consent frameworks in the privacy industry: 24:40How did you get your start in privacy?: 27:57What is the future of the CPO role?: 33:56Advice to young people who want to work in privacy: 36:19How to find Ron: 39:34Rapid-fire questions: 40:01Book Recommendations: 41:28What you wish you'd known as a young privacy professional: 42:42Connect with us:Ron De Jesus - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rondejesus/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How is the rise of AI going to affect the intellectual property field and patents? What are some common mistakes that GCs make when setting up a patent strategy? Or tips that our guest has learned from years as a patent examiner?Join Matt Veale, European Patent Attorney and UPC at PatSnap, as he leads us into this podcast's first-ever deep dive into all things patents and IP, sharing expert advice on the best way to work with examiners to bring your innovations to the world.Listen as Matt discusses why he thinks IP is the most important thing in the world, the importance of data analytics, bridging the gap between lawyers and R&D, building a strong patent strategy, the future of IP law, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-79Topics:Introduction: 0:00What inspired Matt to be a lawyer: 1:48What does intellectual property law mean?: 3:40Starting your legal career at the UK Intellectual Property Office: 5:11Tips for people filing their first patent: 6:42Interesting patent applications Matt has seen: 8:47Tips for GCs who inherit corporate patents: 9:39Looking for outside patent counsel: 11:55Patent analytics at PatSnap: 13:44The future of IP law: 16:38AI as a tool for patent lawyers: 20:55Contacting Matt: 25:23Rapid-fire questions: 25:37Book recommendations: 26:46What Matt wishes he knew as a young lawyer: 27:17Connect with us:Matt Veale - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-veale-ip/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How can general counsels and legal operations leaders work better together? How do you cultivate a high-performance culture across your legal team? And what makes for a thriving community of legal ops professionals?Join Steph Corey, CEO and Co-founder of UpLevel Ops and Link, the Legal Innovators Network, as she unpacks her career leading legal operations, starting at HP in the 90s, leading operations at Flex and VMware, co-founding the game-changing CLOC and Link conferences, and launching her own consultancy.Listen as Steph discusses how she built community in an isolating legal role, whether or not you need a law degree to work in legal ops, how to hire the best talent for your team, and merging with The L Suite to bring general counsels into the legal operations conversation.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-78Topics:Introduction: 0:00Switching to legal ops from finance: 2:50Building trust with HP's general counsel: 5:33Co-founding CLOC, the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium: 11:21Do you need a JD to break into legal operations?: 15:47Tips for finding the right talent: 18:55How can legal operations professionals and general counsels work better together?: 23:03Co-founding Link: 28:44Merging Link with The L Suite: 31:54The future of her consultancy: 38:23Connecting with Steph and LINK: 40:27Rapid-fire questions: 41:11Book Recommendations: 45:46What you wish you'd known as a young legal ops professional: 49:30Connect with us:Steph Corey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephcorey-ulo/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you help one of Silicon Valley's most iconic companies, Yahoo!, navigate years of change, stay engaged over almost two decades there, and make the move to health tech when you're ready for something new?Join Ron Bell, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at Collective Health, as he shares his journey from Chicago litigator and software programming hobbyist to in-house lawyer at some of the hottest tech companies in the world during the dotcom renaissance.Listen as Ron offers his insights on how to navigate the constant and radical changes he's seen in the tech industry over three decades, the importance of creating spaces of trust and transparency, establishing legal operations in legacy businesses, and why people are so afraid of lawyers.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-77Topics:Introduction: 0:00Charting a career course after law school: 2:04Leaving Illinois for the Bay Area: 3:44Working in legal at Apple as a former programmer: 6:45Leaving Apple for Yahoo!: 10:17Growing and changing at the same company for 18 years: 13:22Setting up legal operations at Yahoo!: 17:25Becoming the second Chief Legal Officer at Collective Health: 21:30Building a strong relationship with Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer: 23:04Navigating constant change: 29:45Coaching your staff to be more accessible: 35:00Paying attention to stock fluctuations: 39:13Reflections on the maturing tech industry: 42:59Deciding to move into healthcare: 46:50Being open and candid with your colleagues: 48:45Rapid-fire questions: 54:57Connect with us:Ron Bell - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronsbell/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How are marketplaces for legal work transforming the way that we work and the way that we live, creating opportunities for a better match between what you need from work and the work that you do?Join Lawtrades co-founders Raad Ahmed and Ashish Walia, as they discuss their path from dissatisfied law school graduates to running a powerhouse legal services startup that links white collar freelancers to legal departments, with $9.7 million in venture backing and $12 million in annual recurring revenue.Listen as Raad and Ashish talk about taking the leap to start a company, making difficult business pivots, working with leading startup accelerators, bringing the management suite into the gig economy, democratizing opportunities for entrepreneurial lawyers, building strong relationships with clients and investors, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-76Topics:Introduction: 0:00Why two start-up founders went to law school: 2:04Deciding to go all in on your start-up: 5:46Participating in the 500 Startup accelerator: 10:49Pivoting your business model to match talent with legal departments: 17:58Is gig work good for workers?: 20:33Cultivating a diverse and gender equitable talent pool: 25:18Removing administrative burden for independent legal professionals: 28:17Changing course and enduring layoffs: 30:09Getting buy-in from team members and investors: 35:30Managing stressful times in business and coming out the other side: 39:56What's next for Lawtrades?: 43:34Rapid-fire questions: 46:36Book recommendations: 50:13What you wish you'd known as a young founder: 53:19Connect with us:Raad Ahmed - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raadahmed/Ashish Walia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishwalia1/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What are the top books that every legal leader needs to read to succeed in the new year? At the close of each episode, Tyler asks our guests what book they would recommend to our audience, and we're kicking off 2025 with this year's list of must-read books that you need to check out. Listen to hear titles that these CEOs, start-up founders, and GCs can't live without. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-75 Topics: Introduction: 0:00 Joe Green, Chief Innovation Officer Gunderson Dettmer, recommends Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas by Laura Empson: 0:42 Rachel Olchowka, General Counsel & Chief People Officer at Fetch recommends Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patty McCord: 1:34 Dan Haley, General Counsel at Guild Education recommends Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford: 2:39 Chelsea Grayson, Managing Partner at Pivot, recommends Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two by Jim Koch: 5:51Aaron Gregory, CEO of Upwardly, recommends The Right It: Why So Many Ideas Fail and How to Make Sure Yours Succeed by Alberto Savoia: 7:38Jasmine Singh, General Counsel at Ironclad, recommends The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds--Not Crushes--Your Soul by Brad Stulberg: 10:03Sean West, Co-Founder of Hence Technologies, recommends The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma by Michael Bhaskar and Mustafa Suleyman: 12:56Jules Polonetsky, CEO of Future of Privacy, recommends: Privacy Is Hard and Seven Other Myths by JH Hoepman: 14:17Heath Tarbert, Chief Legal Officer at Circle, recommends The Enchiridion of Epictetus: 14:57Matt Tanielian, Co-Founder of Franklin Square Group, recommends How to Talk Dirty and Influence People: An Autobiography by Lenny Bruce: 16:21Connect with us: Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft SpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What's the best advice you can offer to young lawyers who are just starting their careers? What do you wish you'd known then that you know now?These are the questions we ask each of our guests at the end of every episode of The Abstract. Listen to some of our favorite answers from the legal leaders and C-suite executives who visited the podcast in 2024 and hear tips about trusting your gut, building strong relationships, taking surprising career paths, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-74Topics:Introduction: 0:00Adam Greenberg, former General Counsel at Warby Parker and Ro, on being a lawyer who doesn't litigate: 0:33Christine Uri, founder of ESG for In-House Counsel, on the value of building relationships: 1:24Jasmine Singh, General Counsel at Ironclad, on trusting your gut: 2:54Matt Campobasso, General Counsel at Enfusion, on exploring self-doubt: 4:15Sarah Feingold, playwright and former counsel at Etsy and Vroom, on not doing everything yourself: 6:33Chelsea Grayson, Managing Partner at Pivot >, on centering business solutions: 8:26Ben Klein, CEO at Aero, on not putting pressure on yourself: 9:59Joe Green, Chief Innovation Officer at Gunderson Dettmer, on experimenting early in your career: 11:23Kristin Sverchek, President of Lyft, on imposter syndrome: 13:46Connect with us:Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you avoid common mistakes in commercial contract negotiation? What about in drafting? And how can you get better at and find more joy in commercial contracting?Join Laura Frederick, Founder and CEO of How to Contract, as she goes deep on all things contracts—everything from how to avoid common mistakes to tips for supercharging your negotiating skills.Listen as Laura talks about her career in contracts working for top energy and renewable companies like Tesla and SolarCity, making the leap to start her own law firm and training business, establishing a yearly conference about all things contracts, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-73Topics:Introduction: 0:00Why Laura chose contracts as her core practice area: 5:52Drafting contracts for energy and renewables: 10:17Laura's favorite types of deals: 13:54Contract drafting tips and tricks: 15:39Considering a more generalist role: 17:50Common mistakes during contract drafting: 23:19How to negotiate more effectively: 25:10Tips for breaking a negotiating log jam: 27:59Lessons from mentors: 33:03Founding How to Contract: 36:39Leaving Tesla to make the leap to business owner: 40:06Focusing on mental health: 44:19Finding Laura's businesses online: 51:10Rapid-fire questions: 54:08What Laura wishes she'd known as a young lawyer: 55:12Connect with us:Laura Frederick - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurafredericklaw/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What do you need to know about managing government affairs for heavily regulated, high growth brands? Is it perhaps the most interesting part of a GC's job? And will it actually lead you to Washington D.C. or maybe other slightly less glamorous cities?Join Adam Greenberg, Advisor and Fractional General Counsel at APG Advising, as he shares lessons from years as top in-house counsel at healthcare start-ups Warby Parker and Ro about lobbying state legislatures to make telehealth more accessible to customers across the United States.Listen as Adam discusses the legal needs of direct-to-consumer businesses, working with lobbyists and legislators at a state level, sharing notes with your closest competitors to change regulations, destigmatizing embarrassing medical topics, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-72Topics:Introduction: 0:00Deciding to become a start-up lawyer: 2:56Dealing with government affairs issues at Warby Parker: 7:15Lobbying state legislatures: 10:35Going state to state with a small budget: 19:16Becoming the first legal hire at Ro: 26:30Building out the legal team at Ro: 30:08Talking with legislators about erectile dysfunction medication: 37:10Lobbying for direct-to-consumer brands: 42:51Does the CEO need to be involved in state lobbying?: 45:21What Adam is up to now: 47:39Rapid-fire questions: 48:54Book recommendations: 52:29What Adam wishes he'd known as a young lawyer: 53:47Connect with us:Adam Greenberg - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamgreenberg3/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What does a Data Protection Officer do? How is it different from your privacy counsel? And how might a DPO help your company with cutting-edge issues like regulations around facial recognition or biometrics?Join Paul Collier, data protection officer at The DPO Centre, as he shares how the skills he gained as a front-line police officer have helped him counsel clients on how to balance complex privacy regulations with business goals.Listen as Paul discusses how companies can use facial recognition technology while safeguarding privacy, how in-house legal departments can work best with DPOs, his side hustle as a part-time semi-professional football referee, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-71Topics:Introduction: 0:00Working as a front-line police officer: 2:00What does a Data Protection Officer do?: 6:06Considerations when hiring a DPO: 9:26Counseling companies on facial recognition: 11:33Should governments regulate facial recognition technology?: 16:00How DPOs manage expectations with resistant clients: 20:36How DPOs can work effectively with legal departments: 23:49Becoming a semi-professional football referee: 25:23Rapid-fire questions: 30:06Book recommendations: 32:13What Paul wishes he'd known as a young lawyer: 33:33Connect with us:Paul Collier - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-collier-a2121056/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

If you're in the C-Suite, what do you really need to know about ESG? Is ESG the new privacy? And should ESG really be so controversial?Join Christine Uri, founder of ESG for In-house Counsel, as she explains the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) to both public and private companies in today's global regulatory climate.Listen as Christine draws on more than a decade offering sustainability solutions to her corporate clients to explain how GCs can advocate for ESG to fellow executives, why ESG is great for the bottom line, and why, as she puts it, “ESG is the new privacy.”Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-70Topics:Introduction: 0:00What are sustainability solutions?: 4:03The difference between Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance: 7:36Why she decided to launch a consulting company?: 10:09Why should ESG matter to in-house counsels?: 11:59Explaining why “ESG is the new privacy:” 15:28How general counsels can advocate for adopting ESG practices: 20:11Is ESG relevant at the board level?: 24:40Why ESG has become politicized in the United States: 26:52What ESG for In-house Counsel offers: 30:43How to advocate for ESG at your company: 33:50Rapid-fire questions: 36:50Book recommendations: 38:29What Christine wishes she'd known as a young lawyer: 40:02Connect with us:Christine Uri - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineuri/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What does a general manager role involve? How do you establish your company's first international office? And what skills from lawyering can you draw on to do it well?Join Manuel Martinez-Herrera, General Manager and General Counsel at BetterCloud, as he shares his journey from law school in Spain to offices in Argentina and the U.S., to earning an LL.M at Harvard, jumping from big law to in-house counsel, moving beyond the GC role, and opening his company's first office in Mexico City.Listen as Manuel offers tips for lawyers who want to move into business roles, why it's important to explore new and different opportunities, the traits that lawyers and software engineers share in common, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-69Topics:Introduction: 0:00Why did you decide to practice law in United States?: 2:18Gravitating towards in-house legal: 5:10Feeling ready to lead a legal team: 7:32Becoming General Manager at BetterCloud: 11:35Shifting your mindset from legal to business: 13:43Working with software engineers: 15:23Transitioning from advisor to doer: 18:31How has working as GM changed your relationship with the executive team?: 21:57Leading a team through its maturation process: 24:19Investing in company culture: 26:50Tips for listeners thinking of taking a job abroad: 30:07What's next for Manuel: 32:12Rapid-fire questions: 33:15Book recommendations: 36:23What Manuel wishes he'd known as a young lawyer: 38:50Connect with us:Manuel Martinez-Herrera - https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuel-martinez-herrera-71a2a763/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Have you ever considered quitting your job outright because you felt like you were being pulled farther and farther away from your calling? And then finding your way back through a career change that's very different?Join Jasmine Singh, former Chief Legal and People Officer at Binti, as she shares lessons she learned after taking time away from the legal profession about how to recalibrate your career to align with your principles and passions, and how a year instructing a spin class landed her the in-house role that led her all the way to the executive suite.Listen as Jasmine discusses knowing when it's the right time to quit, how to rely on your network and give back back to your community, realigning your career to match your values, getting your foot in the door as in-house counsel, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-67Topics:Introduction: 0:00Why Jasmine chose to become a lawyer: 2:36Knowing when to take a break: 5:50Teaching spin classes: 14:06Getting your first in-house role at 24 Hour Fitness: 18:26How to position yourself during an in-house job interview: 21:36Transitioning into tech counsel: 25:29Explaining Binti and it's mission: 30:59Fulfilling a philanthropic mission with Dincert Movement: 36:22Tips for people who feel stuck at work: 40:29Rapid-fire questions: 42:54Book recommendations: 44:19What Jasmine wishes she'd known as a young lawyer: 47:35Connect with us:Jasmine Singh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-singh-b4a25274/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What is the transition like from government service to a C-suite leadership role at a cutting edge tech company? How are regulators thinking about crypto and other financial innovations? And is public service something that's still inspiring or something that we ought to aspire to?Join Heath Tarbert, Chief Legal Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs at Circle, as he draws on his extensive and prodigious career in public service–serving as Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commision, associate White House counsel, Supreme Court clerk, special counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, and more–to break down the legal side and wide-ranging impacts of financial markets around the globe.Listen as Heath discusses the intersection between law, finance, and public policy, the future of cryptocurrency, the value of humility, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-67Topics:Introduction: 0:00Building a career around banking and financial markets: 8:53Being picked to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: 16:50Advice to young people considering careers in politics and public service: 22:13Breaking down CFTC regulation of cryptocurrencies: 30:17Why the CFTC chose to engage with cryptocurrencies: 37:26Why Heath joined Circle as Chief Legal Officer: 41:40Should lawyers move beyond legal into business operator roles?: 47:15Rapid-fire questions: 49:16Book recommendations: 53:31What Heath wishes he'd known as a young lawyer: 55:21Connect with us:Heath Tarbert - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heath-tarbert-b2140a15/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What lessons from tennis can you apply to your day-to-day life? How do you build a career as a dealmaker working with high-profile talent? How has the entertainment industry, and what it needs from its lawyers, changed over the years?Join Peter Steckelman, Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at the Tennis Channel, as he shares stories from his uniquely wide-ranging career in entertainment law, including working in-house work at Disney, Fox Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Mattel, and Konami.Listen as Peter serves up stories about his lifelong love for tennis, negotiating with celebrity athletes, and the joys of working in film, television, video games, streaming, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-66Topics:Introduction: 0:00Starting his career in-house at Disney: 9:59How to work with creative people: 20:45What role does creativity play in the legal field?: 24:31Working as a studio executive at video game developer Konami: 28:44Putting together talent agreements with celebrity athletes: 30:51Leading legal at the Tennis Channel: 39:45What playing tennis has taught Peter about being a lawyer: 44:49Rapid-fire questions: 47:30Book recommendations: 49:10What Peter wishes he'd known as a young lawyer: 49:50Connect with us:Peter Steckelman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-steckelman-entertainment-sports-professional/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Do general counsels need to care about geopolitics? Is now the right time to start a legal tech company? And should you consider growing your team in a place other than Silicon Valley, like Rwanda?Join Sean West, Co-Founder at Hence Technologies and writer at Geolegal.substack.com, as he explains how he became a geopolitical forecaster for corporations and hedge funds at Eurasia Group, then chose to co-found a tech company that brings geopolitical insights to general counsels and executives at a time of rising international volatility.Listen as Sean explains why CEOs are becoming chief geopolitical officers, why government affairs teams are increasingly falling under the purview of the general counsel, how he develops his predictions in a constantly changing world, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-65Topics:Introduction: 0:00Tyler asks about the Eurasia Group: 3:51Tyler asks how Sean learned to trust his gut: 8:18Tyler asks why general counsels should care about geopolitics: 10:49Tyler asks how general counsels can get better at handling political risks: 15:59Tyler asks whether CEOs have to be politicians: 22:10Tyler asks about building Hence Technologies in Rwanda: 31:46Tyler asks about starting your own business: 35:03Tyler asks about the future of Hence Technologies: 41:41Tyler asks rapid-fire questions: 43:23Book recommendations: 45:19Tyler asks what Sean wishes he'd known as a young researcher: 47:25Connect with us:Sean West - https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanpwest1/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

As top legal leaders across a variety of industries, our podcast guests are no strangers to building teams from scratch and scaling them to adapt to the needs of a rapidly expanding business. Listen as we share some of our favorite words of advice from past episodes about hiring and growing elite legal teams from some of the most seasoned general counsels and executives working today. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-64 Topics: You're starting a leadership role at a new company. What's your first move?: 0:06 You're about to go public. How do you build an expert international legal team from scratch?: 2:51 How do you prepare your legal team to be the next generation of GCs and legal leaders?: 8:06 How do you prepare your domestic legal team for an international expansion?: 10:41 How do you bring in the right talent to build out your legal team?: 15:41 How do you identify whether a candidate has the skills they need to succeed on your legal team?: 18:17 How do you keep your team motivated to stay on during moments of crisis, like the Covid-19 pandemic?: 23:24 Connect with us: Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft SpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How can the general counsel become a true partner to the executive team? How about in the context of a public company? How can the general counsel ensure that that same can-do attitude that they bring to the table pervades the rest of their legal team?Join Matt Campobasso, General Counsel at Enfusion, as he shares stories and lessons from his unique legal career: starting as a prosecutor outside of Chicago, litigating at a firm for more than a decade and becoming partner, then transitioning to in-house and leading legal at a publicly-traded fintech company.Listen as Matt discusses how his time in the courtroom shaped his approach to in-house legal, how to build a department of independent, driven lawyers, cultivating a business mindset in your team, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-63Topics:Introduction: 0:00Tyler asks about his career as an Illinois prosecutor: 1:36Tyler asks what inspired Matt to be a prosecutor: 4:32Tyler asks about transitioning in-house roles in tech: 16:33Tyler asks about managing work relationships after you become general counsel: 24:15Tyler asks about instilling a business mindset in a legal team: 29:56Tyler on hiring lawyers with an owner's mindset: 37:32Tyler asks fun questions: 43:50Book recommendations: 49:22What Matt wish he knew as a young lawyer: 52:16Connect with us:Matt Campobasso - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrc1921/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How can corporate leaders make compliance training entertaining enough that their employees will pay attention? How do you know if compliance training is effective? What has a founder in this space learned about building for and selling to HR and legal?Join Roxanne Petraeus, Co-Founder and CEO of Ethena, as she discusses how her company is changing compliance training by making it more personalised, effective, role-based, and specific to scenarios happening in her clients' companies. Starting her career as an officer in the U.S. Army, she made the leap from consultant to founder and built a platform that saves time, engages distracted employees, and satisfies regulators.Listen as Roxanne discusses why content is as important as technology, how to measure the success of compliance training, the value of balancing quantitative data with qualitative feedback, and how her company is leveraging AI to better serve their clients, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-62Topics:Introduction: 0:00Finding the inspiration to serve in the military: 1:30Leaving McKinsey & Company to found Ethena: 6:25Scaling up content quality alongside technology: 9:04What companies are getting wrong about in-house training and how to make a change: 11:44Measuring the success of a new compliance training: 13:34Going beyond boring or cringy compliance trainings: 16:45Observing new trends in compliance training: 20:40Leveraging AI as the founder of a tech company: 23:16Comparing compliance issues and needs between small companies and enterprise clients: 29:02Mapping the future for Ethena: 31:50Favorite part of your day and pet peeves: 34:12Book recommendations: 35:50What you wish you'd known as a young founder: 36:58Connect with us:Roxanne Petraeus - https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanne-bras-petraeus-2292b8109/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What skill set should the Chief of Staff to a Chief Legal Officer of a major international corporation need? How do you build trust with a Chief Operating Officer? How do you cultivate the right culture with a large legal and compliance team?Join Zoe McMahon, Chief of Staff, VP of Legal Strategy and Operations at HP, as she shares stories and lessons from her thirty-year career at the world's second largest computer manufacturer. Starting her career in environmental responsibility, Zoe has transferred her skills to a diverse roster of teams, including HP's global human rights office, privacy, and legal operations.Listen as Zoe discusses how she drives change from within, why she loves working on the forefront of developing legal and business fields, her fascination with long-term change, why she values strong relationships, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-61Topics:Introduction: 0:00Tyler asks about starting a career in environmental issues: 2:02How do you advocate for the environment from within a company?: 4:04How do you resource responsibly?: 5:02Why Zoe moved into privacy: 8:03Can you build credibility without a JD?: 9:25Should you change career trajectories? 12:55What does the Chief of Staff to HP's Chief Legal Officer do?: 19:36How do you build strong relationships at work?: 23:57What part of HP's culture is Zoe proudest of?: 26:41Fun questions: 30:30Book recommendations: 34:02What Zoe wish she know when she was getting started: 40:04Connect with us:Zoe McMahon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-mcmahon-44074814/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Where's the intersection in a career as a creative and as a lawyer? What stories would you tell if you were writing a play about your career in startup law? How do you go and convince some accomplished actors to sign up and perform it off-broadway? Join Sarah Feingold, the legal expert and playwright behind Dirty Legal Secrets: Based on True Startups—running Off-Broadway this October in New York City—as she shares her experience collecting and staging anonymous stories from startup lawyers that they can't tell themselves. She leveraged her own experience as the first general counsel at start-ups Etsy and Vroom. Listen as Sarah discusses how she leveraged her own experience as the first general counsel at start-ups Etsy and Vroom to tell other lawyers' brave legal stories, how to balance your creative pursuits with legal work, how to expand beyond in-house to advise, teach, and join boards, and much more. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-60 Topics: Introduction: 0:00 Becoming Etsy's first lawyer (and 17th hire): 2:48 Transitioning to General Counsel at Vroom: 6:57 Writing a play: 9:18Getting started on your first draft: 13:59 Finding actors and producing your own play: 16:52 Learning to promote yourself after a career in legal: 19:54 Staging Dirty Legal Secrets: 21:37 Keeping your creative spirit alive while working full-time: 25:28 Leaning into a “portfolio” career: 28:20 Favorite part of your day and pet peeves: 30:13 Book recommendations: 31:24 What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 33:21Cellunova Productions presents Dirty Legal Secrets October 17-27, NYC Buy tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dirty-legal-secrets-tickets-1001791825317 Connect with us: Sarah Feingold: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfeingold/ Tyler Finn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft SpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you turn your passion for sports into a career? What does it take to advise pro athletes and celebrities on investments and deals? And how can you start to angel invest yourself?Sunjay Mathews, investor, advisor, and dealmaker in the sports and media sector, was able to make the leap from in-house counsel at FanDuel and DAZN, the biggest names in sports betting and streaming, into a legal and business consulting powerhouse. With his deep understanding of the complex (and often outdated) regulations surrounding sports betting, he began leading at the intersection of crypto and athletics, advising on sports partnerships with FTX and investing in blockchain-reliant companies like BetDex, and joining the board of tixbase.Listen as Sunjay shares lessons from his career at the cutting edge of burgeoning industries, dealmaking with pro athletes, getting started as an angel investor, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-59Topics:Introduction: 0:00Transitioning from law associate to sports legal advisor at FanDuel: 3:40Dealing with anachronistic regulations in the sports betting industry: 6:47Moving into streaming at DAZN: 10:39Getting a start as an independent advisor: 21:47Dealmaking with pro athletes and celebrities: 26:08Getting started as an angel investor: 34:12Consulting on sports marketing with FTX and getting involved with crypto: 38:06Investing and advising companies like BetDEX, tixbase, and Just Women's Sports: 42:20Uplifting Just Women's Sports: 49:35What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 57:11Connect with us:Sunjay Mathews: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunjay-mathews-b227a723/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 should General Counsel and legal teams be leveraging generative AI? How do you get started on your AI journey and what mistakes should you avoid? Where is the AI revolution heading?Join Cecilia Ziniti, Founder and CEO of GC AI, as she discusses how and why she made the leap from working as a corporate lawyer to creating a generative AI product specifically designed for in-house counsel. Find out how her years leading legal for AI-powered tech companies like Replit, Anki, and Cruise (and serving as lead counsel on Amazon's Alexa) prepared her to create a company offering a groundbreaking product that serves the various needs of lawyers with precision and care.Listen as Cecilia discusses the similarities between lawyers and large language models, how to begin experimenting with generative AI with the goal of making both your professional and personal life smoother, why you can't let others tell you you're “just” a lawyer, and why legal professionals should always use emojis.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-58Topics:Introduction: 0:00Leading legal at Replit: 2:52Why lawyers should use emojis: 5:40Starting a business after gaining extensive experience working with AI: 13:00Considering how GCs should leverage AI: 22:18Hiring legal teams in the age of AI: 39:03Teaching a class on AI at Stanford University: 47:35Book Recommendations: 51:52What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 55:11Connect with us:Cecilia Ziniti - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliaziniti/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Join Jules Polonetsky, CEO and Founder of the Future of Privacy Forum, as he shares lessons he learned from the front lines of ad tech starting in the early 1990s. Starting his career in politics as a New York assemblyman and working his way into consumer protection-focused public roles, he became one of the first chief privacy officers in the tech industry at companies like DoubleClick and AOL at a crucial moment in the history of online privacy. Now his think tank connects policymakers with corporations, and helps both sides answer tough questions about privacy and data.Join Jules Polonetsky, CEO and Founder of the Future of Privacy Forum, as he shares lessons he learned from the front lines of ad tech starting in the early 1990s. Starting his career in politics as a New York assemblyman and working his way into consumer protection-focused public roles, he became one of the first chief privacy officers in the tech industry at companies like DoubleClick and AOL at a crucial moment in the history of online privacy. Now his think tank connects policymakers with corporations and helps both sides answer tough questions about privacy and data.Listen as Jules discusses his uniquely-positioned understanding of privacy issues, the future of AI governance and the chief privacy officer role, advice to lawyers who want to move into the privacy space, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-57Topics:Introduction: 0:00Getting a start in New York politics: 1:57Running for elected office: 11:46Taking one of the first Chief Privacy Officer roles in the industry at DoubleClick: 16:43Considering the necessary training to be successful in privacy: 24:28Founding the Future of Privacy Forum: 32:02Questioning the death of the Chief Privacy Officer role: 44:42Favorite part of your day-to-day work and professional pet peeves: 51:54Book recommendations: 56:41What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 1:00:01Connect with us:Jules Polonetsky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julespolonetsky/Tyler Finn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

Can playing cards teach you to be a better lawyer? How do you make it in Silicon Valley without the traditional big law firm experience? And how do you make the jump to public company general counsel?Join Andrew Woods, General Counsel at PubMatic, as he discusses the unique path he forged from professional poker player to legal star. From founding a think tank at Harvard focused on poker and law to breaking into tech and privacy as Director of Legal and Associate Counsel at Twitter, Andrew relies on his belief in the value of autonomy, mastery, and significance to guide him towards work that makes him happiest.Listen as Andrew discusses his love for game theory, landing a fulfilling job leading legal at a tech company, hiring lawyers based on their ambitions instead of their experience, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-56Topics:Introduction: 0:00Starting your career as a professional poker player: 1:33Comparing poker skills with skills required to succeed as general counsel: 6:10Taking an unorthodox path after law school: 13:02Transitioning to in-house roles in tech: 17:12Moving away from skill questions in the hiring process: 22:52Developing mastery over fields like privacy and ad tech: 29:05Breaking into privacy: 33:18Considering the future of AI governance from a privacy perspective: 36:37Making the jump to Twitter and PubMatic: 39:21Book recommendations: 54:23What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 57:23Connect with us:Andrew Woods - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmichaelwoods/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you make the leap from lawyer to founder? How do you craft the perfect pitch? What does it take to fundraise effectively? And how far will your legal know-how take you when you're accountable for every function in the business?Join Aaron Gregory, Co-founder and CEO of Upwardli, as he shares his journey from general counsel to start-up leader. Starting his career in the highly regulated telecom and fintech industries, Aaron relied on lessons he learned while earning his JD-MBA to start a company that solves the challenges of credit invisibility for more than 50 million people in the United States.Listen as Aaron discusses how he took on the challenges that all first-time founders face–like pitching to VCs, fundraising, and growing into the CEO role—and shifted his mindset from that of a risk-conscious legal leader to a business-focused operator.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-55Topics:Introduction: 0:00Forging a career in highly regulated legal areas: 1:25Advice to law students considering a JD-MBA: 7:20Teaching yourself to become comfortable with uncertainty: 9:57Leaving Remitly right before it went public to found a start-up: 15:10Unpacking Upwardli: 18:42Bringing your business to a start-up accelerator: 22:26Fundraising for your start-up: 27:05Making an effective pitch: 33:15Growing into the CEO role: 36:16Building Upwardli in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 44:43Bonus questions: 48:48Book recommendations: 51:29What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 53:02Connect with us:Aaron Gregory - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amgregory/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How can C-suite leaders take on challenging political issues that affect their company? How do you pursue a path of professional growth at a company over the course of a decade? What's required for taking on wide-ranging responsibilities at the executive level?Join Kristin Sverchek, President of Lyft, as she discusses how she joined a small start-up as their first general counsel and grew with it as it transformed into a global ride-sharing powerhouse with a multi-billion dollar IPO.Listen as she discusses the unexpected management challenges she faced and conquered internally as her role expanded beyond legal, as well as the external challenges of taking strong stances to protect her drivers in the face of adverse political climates. She also offers advice for lawyers looking to expand beyond the legal function and shares stories about innovating in industries where regulations haven't been updated in over a century.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-54Topics:Introduction: 0:00Finding your way to Lyft: 3:51Taking on your first GC role at Lyft: 6:23Building a legal team at a rapidly growing start-up: 8:23Helping lead the IPO process: 10:48Comparing work at public and private companies: 14:39Dealing with the challenges of executive roles: 17:20Transitioning into the President of Business Affairs role: 21:45Working with an executive coach during major career transitions: 26:08Advice to lawyers who want to take on GC “plus” roles: 27:56Defining and living your values at Lyft: 30:30Taking on the role of President: 35:58Departing Lyft: 38:42Book recommendation: 45:52What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 46:58Connect with us:Kristin Sverchek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinsverchek/Tyler Finn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What do you need to know if you're ready to launch a government affairs strategy? How do you find the right lobbyist? And how has lobbying for tech companies changed over the last decade?Join Matt Tanielian, Co-founder of Franklin Square Group, a bipartisan government relations, as he shares key insights from his decades of experience advocating for tech companies and bridging the gap between Silicon Valley and Washington. D.C. From advising senators on foundation internet legislation like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Microsoft antitrust investigation, to lobbying for Apple as it launched its first iPhone in 2008, Matt has been instrumental to tech firms as they navigate the intricacies of Capitol Hill.Listen as Matt discusses how to work with politicians and government relations consultants, the value of joining coalitions and trade associations, the future of AI policy, and much more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-53Topics:Introduction: 0:00Attending law school in Washington, D.C.: 3:51Working for a committee vs. working for a congressperson: 5:05Questioning whether policy work requires a law degree: 7:12Launching your own government relations firm: 10:17Analyzing the evolving conversation around around tech in Washington: 13:15Hiring your company's first government relations consultant: 15:35Joining and organizing coalitions and industry organizations: 20:58Choosing who will represent your company in D.C.: 26:20Avoiding common mistakes: 28:30Envisioning the future of AI policy: 30:32Advising companies during an election year: 34:42Tracking the changing nature of lobbying: 36:09Book recommendations: 38:14Lobbying vs. government relations: 40:23What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 42:47Connect with us:Matt Tanielian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matttanielian/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you raise nine figures in financing in twelve hours as the first Twitter-fueled bank run is happening around you and you feel the pressure of hundreds and thousands of employees depending on your ability to finish the deal so their paychecks clear?Join Vanessa Wu, GC at Rippling, as she relives the moment her company overcame the disastrous collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and pulled through some lightning-fast deals to protect the income of the clients whose paychecks depend on them. Her department's hard work turned a catastrophe into a boon to their company's reputation, both with product users and investors.Listen as Vanessa offers a masterclass in getting financing and deals over the finish line in record time, with tips on moving through the diligence process, keeping fees low, and why it's essential for lawyers to close as quickly as possible.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-52Topics: Introduction: 0:00Becoming a top dealmaker at LiveRamp: 1:33Moving quickly to close deals: 7:06Offering operational solutions to small and medium businesses at Rippling: 10:08Surviving the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: 23:14Collaborating with finance as a legal team: 36:21Tips for a fast and low-fee financing deal-making process: 40:54Favorite parts of day-to-day work: 41:54Book recommendations: 44:22What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 45:28Connect with us: Vanessa Wu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-wu-7363359/ Tyler Finn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft SpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

What do you need to know if you're considering taking on the people function? What's the difference between a chief people officer and a CHRO? And are GCs well-positioned to take on both of these roles simultaneously?Rachel Olchowka, Former Chief People Officer and General Counsel at Fetch and current Chief Administrative Officer at Prizm Insurance, had no hesitations when she volunteered to operate a complex, metrics-driven people function in addition to her responsibilities leading in-house legal at a fast-paced organization. Not only did she learn how to do both roles—she learned how to do them well.Listen as Rachel shares how she was able to find balance between two very different executive positions, know whether expanding into a people role is right for you, establish a game-changing comprehensive parental leave plan, craft culture within a company and executive team, and more.Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-51Topics:Introduction: 0:00Taking on the chief people officer role while serving as general counsel at Fetch: 2:25The difference between CPOs and CHROs: 5:25Encountering pushback from the executive team on HR policies: 9:01Crafting culture within an executive team: 12:35Establishing a comprehensive parental leave plan: 14:53Approaching the hiring process as a CPO: 19:38Comparing in-office policies against remote work: 24:40Dealing with emotionally charged issues in the CPO/CHRO role: 30:57Recommendations to GCs who want to take on multiple executive roles: 36:34Considering the right candidate for dual GC and CPO roles: 42:39Book recommendations: 46:37What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 50:19Connect with us:Rachel Olchowka - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-olchowka/Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinnSpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraftSpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How do you help CEOs transition out of the business? How do you project calm in a time of crisis? Can you draw on the experience of beating cancer twice as you navigate the challenges of executive leadership? Dan Haley, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Guild, has led a career spanning the world of local Massachusetts politics, leading legal at companies like Sprinklr, and Athenahealth, enduring cancer treatments while holding high-stress leadership positions, and becoming known as legal's most “zen” GC. Listen as Dan shares how he developed his calming professional philosophy, why he wears t-shirts to work, and how he instills and nurtures a sense of confidence in his staff during trying times. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-50 Topics: Introduction: 0:00 Balancing cancer treatment with a high-stress job: 9:21 Building a reputation as a zen lawyer: 12:23Maintaining a positive attitude and setting a tone as a GC role: 18:05Managing CEO transitions in a time of crisis: 23:16 Enduring a hostile takeover from Elliott Management at Athenahealth: 27:31 Facilitating the CEO transition at Athenahealth: 32:52 Facilitating the CEO transition at Guild: 37:22 Book recommendations: 46:14 What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 50:13 Connect with us: Dan Haley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danhaley1972/ Tyler Finn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerhfinn SpotDraft - https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotdraft SpotDraft is a leading Contract Lifecycle Management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.

How is AI going to change the practice of law? How is one of the most forward looking law firms adapting? And will the billable hour go away? Joe Green, Chief Innovation Officer at Gunderson Dettmer and Cofounder & Director of the Open Cap Table Coalition, steered a law career starting at major Wall Street firm Simpson Thacher towards the worlds of tech and product management, with stop-offs in academia and legal publishing along the way. Ultimately, he found that his legal mindset guided him in his technical work, and his understanding of business and innovation strengthened his legal abilities. Listen as Joe discusses strategies to shift your careers towards your passion through pro bono work, stepping into board advisory roles, parsing the influx of investment into legal tech, and whether the billable hour will really go away in our lifetime. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-48 Topics: Introduction: 0:00Moving into a tech advisor role at Gunderson Dettmer after a career start at Simpson Thacher: 2:11Moving away from the standard legal path at Thompson Reuters: 5:38Taking on side hustles that pull you towards tech and product: 8:43Founding the Open Cap Table Coalition: 11:59Rejoining Gunderson Dettmer and moving into the CIO role: 18:04Challenging the billable hour model: 20:56Leading and launching innovative projects: 30:06Shifting from a legal to a technical mindset: 33:44Discussing the influx of investment into legal tech: 37:20Predicting the future of legal services: 41:06Book Recommendations: 43:41What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 45:40 Connect with us: Joe Green - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joegreen1/ 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 you build a legal and business career from a passion for aviation? What is the transition like from the GC role to that of CEO? And what is it like to run an airline? Ben Klein, CEO and First Officer at Aero, was able to combine his dedication to legal work with his lifelong love of flying. Starting off at big law firms like Davis Polk & Wardwell, he successfully transitioned into aviation law after founding his own firm, then took on GC roles at autonomous helicopter start-up Skyryse and Aero, an airline offering a private-jet-like experience. Listen as Ben discusses instilling confidence in investors during a CEO transition, counseling his airline through the coronavirus pandemic, and leveraging his experience in the cockpit to make his company the best it can be. Read detailed summary: https://www.spotdraft.com/podcast/episode-47 Topics: Introduction: 0:00 Transitioning from corporate law to aviation law: 6:01Founding an aviation-focused law firm: 9:38Learning to manage an executive team as a first-time GC at Skyryse: 11:47Counseling an airline through the coronavirus pandemic: 14:57Taking on a GC and First Officer role at Aero: 16:09Leveraging your experience in the cockpit to lead as CEO: 23:59Instilling confidence in investors as you transition from GC to CEO: 25:47Inspiring teamwork in c-suite reports and hiring for your replacement GC: 30:58Book Recommendations: 35:30What you wish you'd known as a young lawyer: 38:49Connect with us: Ben Klein - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-klein-01b8736/ 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.