In-House Outliers

On this episode, Chad Hallberg (Legal Operations Lead at Stripe) joined Alex Kelly to discuss the central pillars of the legal operations function, and Chad's approach to launching initiatives related to each pillar.

Chad also underscored the importance of leveraging spend management as a launching pad for other legal ops projects, and discussed his career journey.

Lorna Khemraz (Lead AI Counsel at Legal OS) joined Alex Kelly on the podcast this week to discuss the ways that AI is poised to improve all facets of legal work.

Lorna also shared her thoughts on the major differences between working in-house vs. private practice, and shared insights from her fascinating career journey.

On this episode, Martinique Aguero (Legal Operations Specialist at Zendesk) joined Alex Kelly to discuss her approach to improving legal department processes.

Martinique also shared her top resources for developing her professional skillsets, and discussed the skills from her time working as a paralegal that she has carried over into her legal ops role.

On this episode, Savannah Ramsey (Senior Legal Operations Manager & Chief of Staff at Motive) joined Alex Kelly to discuss her "less but better" mindset and how it guides her legal ops strategies.

Savannah also shared insights into how her mentors influenced her professional journey, and discussed how legal tech solutions have increased the functionality of her organization's legal team.

On this episode, Legal Operations Leader Sol Brody joined Alex Kelly for an in-depth discussion about the strategic initiatives that all legal ops professionals should implement when stepping into their roles.

Sol also shared his advice for those new to the legal operations field, and talked about his own professional journey from the world of global trade to legal ops.

On this episode, Michael Dineen (VP of Data Science at Brightflag) joins Alex Kelly to discuss the recent rise in the functionality of A.I. tools, and how legal teams are contending with it.

Michael also shares his thoughts on ChatGPT, how A.I. models work, and where generative A.I. might take the legal departments in the years ahead.

On this episode, Jessica Williams (Director of Legal Team Strategy and Operations at FanDuel) joined Alex Kelly to discuss her experience building out a legal ops function at FanDuel, and why she chose to prioritize e-billing.

Jessica also discussed her fascinating career journey, and the knowledge-building initiatives she's leading for the Buying Legal Council.

On this episode, André Barrow (Head of Legal Operations at FARFETCH) joined Alex Kelly to discuss how he applies project management principles to his work in the field of legal operations to change how legal work gets delivered.

André also shared his thoughts on the key priorities to focus on in a legal ops role, and discussed the importance of being part of a community while working in this industry.

On this special episode, Ian Nolan (Brightflag CEO and Co-Founder) joins Alex Kelly to reflect on Brightflag's incredible journey in celebration of the company's 10-year anniversary.

Ian also discusses the rise of legal ops, the value that A.I. brings to legal departments' functionality, and what's on the horizon for Brightflag.

On this episode, Lindsey Marandola (Director of Legal Operations at Temple Health) joined Alex Kelly for an in-depth conversation about the challenges of building out a legal ops function from the ground up.

Lindsey also shared insights into how she leverages data to make her in-house team more efficient, and discussed her fascinating journey to legal ops.

On this episode, Stano Gejdos (Global Category Manager at Syngenta) joined Alex Kelly for a discussion about the key learnings Stano has applied to legal operations from his experience working in procurement.

Stano also shared tips for implementing alternative fee arrangements, and discussed the importance of evaluating the ROI of all the legal department's processes to improve cost savings and efficiency.

On this episode, Ashlee Best (Founder of Compass Legal Operations and Wellness) joins Alex Kelly to discuss how her IT background led her on a very unique journey to the field of legal operations.

Ashlee also shares her thoughts on how legal tech can transform the legal ops function, and her goal of making health, wellness, and balance a focus for those working in the industry.

On this episode, Kristen Hart (Senior Paralegal, Corporate and Legal Operations at Vantage Risk Companies) joins Alex Kelly to discuss the challenges of establishing new processes within legal departments, and how strong communication between legal ops professionals and the General Counsel can help.

Kristen also shares insights from her own legal ops career journey, and how others in the industry can find opportunities to continue to grow professionally.

On this episode, Brightflag's Chief Customer Officer Kevin Cohn returns to share his annual legal ops and legal tech predictions for 2024.

Kevin also recaps his 2023 predictions, and offers insights into the role of A.I. within legal departments in the year ahead, what the future holds for legal operations hiring and compensation, and more.

On this episode, Alisa De Dominicis (VP Global, Legal, and E&C Operations at Rimini Street) joined Alex Kelly to discuss the various skill sets—from project management to technology integration—that go into being an effective legal operations leader.

Alisa also shared insights into her career journey, and underscored some of the data that CEOs seek out from legal teams, as well as how that data is collected.

On this episode, Legal Operations Leader Laurie David-Henric joined Alex Kelly for a discussion about the importance of creating your own career opportunities by seeking out professional challenges, and how that mindset helped her build out the legal operations functions in the various roles she has held.

Laurie also shared insights into how she has helped legal teams maximize limited resources through data, and the importance of cross-collaboration when working in legal ops.

On this episode, Kimberly Williams (Head of Legal Operations at SMBC Group) joined Alex Kelly for a conversation about her professional journey, and how it led her from working as an Associate to leading the legal operations function at her organization.

Kimberly also discussed the keys to making legal technology implementations work, and how gathering the right data makes effective resourcing possible.

On this episode, Victoria Swedjemark (Founder of Glowmind) joined Alex Kelly to discuss her professional experiences working in both business and legal roles—and how each function ultimately inspired her interest in exploring the legal operations and consulting field.

Victoria also shared her thoughts on how the legal ops mindset can evolve, and stressed the importance of legal leaders pushing the boundaries of what their teams can do.

On this episode, Curt McDaniel (Chief Legal Officer at Ferring Pharmaceuticals) joined Alex Kelly for an in-depth discussion about how he went about implementing his organization's first legal operations role, and the importance of embracing new technological advancements in the field of legal work.

Curt also discussed the impacts of using data to spot inefficiencies, his career journey, and his passion for writing.

On this episode, Mark Allen (Director of Legal & Compliance Operations and Strategy at Zillow) joined Alex Kelly to discuss how legal ops professionals can tactfully implement change within a legal department—even when it might initially seem uncomfortable.

Mark also shared insights into some strategies he's used to negotiate with outside counsel, discussed his remarkable career journey, and underscored the importance of advocating for DE&I initiatives in the field of legal ops.

On this week's episode, Lyndsey Cain (Director of Legal Operations at The New York Times) joined Alex Kelly to discuss the holistic approach she takes when undertaking change management initiatives, and the importance of building trust and fostering open communication with the in-house legal team when working in a legal operations role.

Lyndsey also shared insights from her own professional journey to the field of legal ops, and how much the industry has changed over the last 10 years.

On this week's episode, Eric O'Donnell (Head of Legal Operations at TotalEnergies) joined Alex Kelly to discuss how data provides the foundation upon which legal spend management initiatives are built, and the role of change management in tackling legal operations projects.

Eric also shared insights into his globe-spanning career journey, and how always striving to expand his knowledge and skillsets has served him well in his professional roles.

On this week's episode, Connie Brenton (Founder of LegalOps.com, CLOC Founder and Founding CEO) joined Alex Kelly to discuss her remarkable career journey, the industry-wide impacts she's had on the field of legal operations, and the advice she would offer to those who are just starting out.

Connie also underscored the importance of using data to inform strategy, her approach to change management. and the upcoming Running Legal Like a Business Conference that LegalOps.com will be hosting in Las Vegas.

On this week's episode, Ashlyn Donohue (Director of Legal at LinkSquares) joined Alex Kelly to discuss how she leverages data to help develop processes and guidelines that make her legal team more efficient.

Ashlyn also shared her thoughts on how to optimize the use of legal technology, and underscored the importance of establishing processes and communication in the era of hybrid work.

On this week's episode, Christine Baer (Legal Operations Manager at the University of Cambridge) joined Alex Kelly for a conversation about her fascinating career journey, and what drew her to the field of legal operations.

Christine also shared insights into her own legal ops strategies, including how she works to maximize the capabilities of her organization's in-house legal team and ensure they're using their time as efficiently as possible.

On this week's episode, Legal Operations Leader Amy Brookbanks joined Alex Kelly to discuss her initial transition from in-house legal to legal operations, and the keys of developing a strong relationship with an organization's Finance team.

Amy also shared her thoughts on how to prioritize what the community is saying and what your business needs when developing a legal ops strategy, and explored some of the ways that access to data has transformed her work in legal operations.

Recorded live at this year's CLOC Global Institute, this week's episode features Kshitij Dua, Head of Legal Operations at HashiCorp.

Kshitij joined Alex Kelly to discuss his observations about some of the panels he attended while at CGI, and share his thoughts on the future impacts of A.I. on the field of legal operations.

On this week's episode, Mandy Savoca (Legal Operations Technology Lead at Block) joined Alex Kelly to discuss how she approaches legal technology implementations to ensure that all the stakeholders involved are up to speed and satisfied with the solutions being offered.

Mandy also shared insights into the keys to evaluating software solutions, and the pivotal role that data plays in all the decisions that her team makes.

On this episode, Jeremy Hopkins (Director of Legal Operations at Contentsquare) joined Alex Kelly to discuss the most effective ways for legal operations leaders to implement change and garner support for new initiatives from the organization's legal team.

Jeremy also shared his thoughts on the future role of generative A.I. on the legal profession, and discussed how his work as a former barristers' clerk prepared him for some of the challenges of working in legal ops.

Tom Rice, Legal Director at TravelPerk, joins Alex Kelly for an insightful discussion about the innovative approaches Tom has implemented to support the rapid growth of his organization's legal department.

Tom also shared his thoughts on the importance of always challenging the reasons for the work that you're doing, and the hurdles he has overcome while scaling TravelPerk's systems to meet the needs of its quickly-expanding team.

On this episode, John Bennett (CEO and Founder of Melius Law) joined Alex Kelly for a discussion about the growth of legal technology, and how embracing legal tech can help in-house teams level up their capabilities while improving organizational leadership's perception of the legal function as a whole.

John also shared his observations about the differences between working for a law firm and working in-house, and how his ongoing passion for helping others become the best versions of themselves inspired him to start Melius Law.

Katrina Gowans (CLOC Australian Chapter Co-Chair) joined Alex Kelly on the show this week to discuss some of the key challenges she faced when transitioning to legal ops from her previous role as a Senior Corporate Lawyer.

Katrina also provided insights on how best to illustrate the value of legal operations to legal leaders who are on the fence about implementing a legal ops function.

On this week's episode, Cat Casey (Chief Growth Officer at Reveal-Brainspace) joined Alex Kelly for a conversation about her 18 years working in the e-discovery space, and how staying current on the ever-evolving technology landscape is pivotal to getting an edge in your career development.

Cat also shared her insights into the future role of A.I. in the legal space, and how emerging technologies like ChatGPT are transforming professional roles.

On this week's episode, Jonathan Polk (General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Melio) joined Alex Kelly for a fascinating conversation about Jonathan's career journey, which led him from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to American Express and, ultimately, to his current role at Melio.

Jonathan discussed the challenges he overcame in transitioning to each respective role, and also shared his thoughts on the keys to professional success and the importance of finding gratification in the work that you do.

On this week's episode, Brooks Hall, Legal Operations Manager at Human Interest, joined Alex Kelly for an in-depth conversation about the career path that led her to the field of legal operations after previously holding Senior Paralegal roles.

Brooks also shared insights into the importance of embracing legal tech, and the transformative power of having true clarity into legal spend.

On this episode Michael Theise, Senior Manager of Legal & Compliance Operations at Biogen, joined Alex Kelly for a conversation about how the skills he developed working as a programmer, data analyst, and customer success manager ultimately set him up for success in the field of legal operations.

Michael also shared some of the biggest lessons he's learned to this point in his career, and discussed some of his observations about working in the legal ops space.

Electra Japonas, CEO and Founder of TLB, joins Alex Kelly on the podcast this week to discuss her incredible career journey, the differences between working for a firm and working in-house, and the proper way to approach legal technology to ensure you're getting the most out of your investment.

Electra also shared insights into the growth she has seen in the legal operations space, and how organizations can work to align the legal function with their own unique goals.

Recorded live at the 2023 CLOC Global Institute in Las Vegas, this episode features conversations with Stacy Lettie (Chief of Staff to the General Counsel, Organon) and Ryan Buoscio (Manager of Legal Operations, Ventas, Inc.) about the important role that collaboration and teamwork play in the legal ops function.

Stacy also dove into how to develop a strong relationship with your General Counsel, and Ryan discussed how CGI has helped him keep tabs on new innovations in the legal ops space.

Recording live in Las Vegas during CLOC Global Institute, Alex Kelly was joined by Liz Lugones (COO & Senior Advisor at UpLevel Ops) and Mary Zolene Agbovi (Director of Legal Operations at CoverMyMeds) for this episode.

Liz discussed her thoughts on the importance of building a business case for investments in legal ops, and Mary detailed her experience building out her professional network from the ground up. Both this week's guests also shared their biggest takeaways from the sessions they attended during CGI.

In the latest episode of the In-House Outliers "Live from CLOG Global Institute" series, Alex Kelly spoke with Lara Trope (Legal Operations Consultant at InnoLaw Group, PLLC) and Laurie David-Henric (Global Head of Operations & Strategy at Manulife) about their insights into the legal ops trends that caught their attention during CGI.

Lara also shared what triggered her initial interest in legal operations, and Laurie discussed her thoughts on the role of A.I. in the industry (with a surprise guest appearance from the great Jenn McCarron).

Recorded live at the 2023 CLOC Global Institute in Las Vegas, this episode features special guests Denise Doyle (Managing Director of Legal Operations, modCounsel) and Farrah Pepper (Chief Legal Innovation Counsel, Marsh McLennan).

During her conversation with Alex Kelly, Denise shared some key advice for legal ops leaders that are in the early stages of developing their organization's legal operations function, and spoke on how law firms can collaborate more effectively with their clients.

Farrah stopped by to share her insights on the importance of saying "yes" to new professional challenges, and traced her career journey to legal operations. She also spoke a bit about how she worked her way up to becoming CLOC's current Vice President.

In-House Outliers kicks off its 2023 CLOC Global Institute podcast series with a live episode featuring Contentful's Director of Legal Operations Ashley Adams and Epiq's Senior Consultant Brenda Hansen.

Ashley joined Alex Kelly to discuss how she got her start working in legal operations, how she developed her expertise at public speaking, and her CGI presentation about the keys to building a legal ops function from the ground up.

Brenda shared her thoughts about some of the broader trends within the legal operations space, outlining important first steps for transforming an organization's approach to legal spend management. She also offered insights into her key takeaways from CGI, including her opinions on the future role of A.I. and other legal tech innovations.

Alex Su, Head of Community Development at Ironclad, joins Alex Kelly on the podcast this week for a conversation about his unconventional career journey, which led him from law school to sales to his current role—and helped him hone his creativity and skills as a social media guru. Alex also discussed his thoughts on A.I.'s future place in the legal field, and underscored the philosophical differences between how law firms and corporate legal teams approach technology and innovation.

Andrew Stephens, General Counsel at MongoDB, joins Alex Kelly this week for a conversation about leadership, and the keys to forming meaningful connections with your colleagues. Andrew also discussed his thoughts about legal operations, why he enjoys working for growth stage tech companies, and the fascinating details of his career journey.

Helen Lowe, Head of Operations, General Counsel's Office at easyJet, joins Alex Kelly this week for a conversation about the importance of keeping a level head in any situation, and how a strong willingness to lend a hand is the mark of a good leader. Helen also shared insights into her own professional journey, and how her early-career experiences helped strengthen her ability to crystallize information and easily identify solutions to whatever challenges come her way.

Lenor Marquis, Head of Litigation Operations at Hitachi Energy, joined Alex Kelly this week for a conversation about her career journey. Lenor discussed the key differences between working for firms and working in-house, the specific skills needed for leading litigation, and her thoughts on the benefits of legal technology.

Lisa Lang, Vice President and General Counsel at Ohio Northern University, joins Alex this week to share insights from her unconventional career path, which led her from a role as a legal specialist in the military to her current position as General Counsel. Lisa also shared her thoughts on key skills she had to acquire in order to make her professional transitions as seamless and rewarding as possible.

Kate Carlile, Chief Legal Officer at Toll, joins Alex Kelly this week to discuss the biggest differences between working as an in-house lawyer and working with a firm. Kate also underscored the importance of having a broad knowledge base, and why a strong understanding of finances can help ease an in-house legal team’s cross-collaborations.

Sandy MacDonnell, Senior Manager of Legal Operations at DocuSign, joins Alex Kelly this week for a conversation about the benefits of professional development, and how leveraging her experience working in Product Marketing has helped elevate her legal operations work. Sandy also discussed the importance of maintaining a sense of your work’s broader purpose, and learning to connect with your colleagues.

Jo Vong, Legal Operations Manager at Plaid, joins Alex Kelly this week to discuss the evolution of legal technology and Jo’s career journey in the field of legal operations. Jo also shared insights into the importance of viewing mistakes as opportunities for personal grow.