The Abstract

How do you navigate being in the public eye of a high-profile company? What happens when you become embroiled in a public controversy and your company doesn’t have your back? This is just one of the themes we will be delving into with Mark Marin, Puffco’s General Counsel, on this episode of The Abstract. In this incredibly candid conversation, Mark will take us through: — the challenges he faced d...

Scuba diving and entrepreneurship have a lot more in common than you may think. From staying calm in high-pressure situations to overcoming challenges and facing your fears head on, it is no coincidence that Kathy Zhu, Co-founder and CEO of Streamline AI, finds solace in both the deep waters of the ocean and the unpredictable start-up world. Join Kathy and SpotDraft’s Tyler Finn as they dive into...

What does it take to build up your legal team? Is it possible to work effectively without a foundation of trust and vulnerability? What role does emotional intelligence take in nurturing careers? And how do you proceed in a role when you don’t know how to make the first big step? Seth Weissman is no stranger to navigating difficult business challenges without a roadmap. Now an executive coach, he...

Mergers and acquisitions, private equity buyouts, and transformative deals are part of business. But what's it like for the lawyers making them happen? Get an insider look at high-stakes corporate transformations from Brian Chase, GC of ServiceChannel. Brian shares a candid glimpse into the complexities behind major corporate moves as he delves into his experiences navigating company changes under...

Where does legal end and strategy begin? Taking on new tasks and new roles can help you expand beyond the traditional GC role. But are enthusiasm and attitude enough to skyrocket you to bold new places in your career? Join Bambee Chief Strategy Officer & GC Evan Ferl for an exciting discussion about following your passions and using legal to inject positivity into your organization. We’ll hear...

“Legal just doesn’t understand our priorities.” Legal is often viewed as a cost center and a blocker in fulfilling business needs, instead of a thought partner that can help push the business forward. This perception is a challenge most in-house counsel have to overcome when they join a company. How can you transform legal’s brand, get a seat at the table, and own it so you and your team can becom...

“How do I expand my scope of work as a GC or in-house lawyer?” The in-house legal industry is increasingly seeing GCs step up to the role of COO, CFO, head of people functions, and more. In fact, expanding your role to cross-functional leadership positions has become an important part of growth for senior legal executives. In episode 9 of The Abstract, we talk to one such leader, who grew her care...

Enabling a successful IPO is an important milestone in a GC’s career. For Gary Spiegel, it was a passion he’d pursued ever since he transitioned from the regulatory world into Silicon Valley. Join us as Gary takes us behind the scenes into his experience: -navigating two acquisitions in two years, from MySQL to Sun Microsystems to Oracle, -fulfilling his dream of becoming an IPO GC at Anaplan, -he...

What’s your legal team’s brand? And by that, we mean, what does your team look like from the lens of the rest of the organization? Join Away’s GC Lydia Cheuk as she shares insights on marketing Legal within the organization, authentically building your personal brand, shaping legal as the first hire at early-stage companies across different industries, and more. We’ll also discuss Lydia’s experien...

Legal, Security, and Privacy are cut from the same cloth — but it’s common to see friction between these teams. How can GCs and in-house leaders bridge this gap to form productive working relationships? Join us as we dive into the incredible journey of Celaena Powder, VP of Legal at Seismic, as she weighs in on forming unbeatable GC-CISO duos, supporting an enterprise sales motion at a company, nu...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with David Lancelot, a seasoned legal leader who has fearlessly embraced the ever-evolving world of technology. While being a tech lawyer is undoubtedly exciting right now, David's journey dates back to a time when it was considered too daring to venture into this domain. With firsthand experiences of seeing the dot-com boom, surviving the crash, and now witne...

What do companies and clients really want from lawyers? How can you align your career with your values while pursuing your ambitions? What makes a world-class legal operations team? In the fourth episode of The Abstract, we sit down with the brilliant Akshay Verma, Head of Legal Operations at Coinbase, as he tackles these burning questions and more. Drawing from his extensive two-decade journey, A...

Join Adam Glick, a former litigator and Head of Legal at Intercom, as we discuss nonlinear career paths, hiring, building an authentic network, and evangelizing the value of a legal department to high-growth public and private tech companies.  Adam has decades of in-house experience, is a profound legal executive, and provides practical advice on becoming customer-centric, so legal serves as...

If you’re an in-house attorney, how do you set yourself up for learning and growth throughout a long career? How should you define success? Is it being named the General Counsel of a high-growth company? Or are there other paths for an interesting and inspiring career? Join former DocuSign Deputy General Counsel Doug Luftman for an in-depth conversation around mentorship, management, and fulfillme...

A typical legal department has some clearly defined responsibilities: commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, employment law, and perhaps government affairs. Yet, legal touches nearly all the other functions in a business and has a unique vantage point. What happens when legal is asked — or chooses — to take on more? Join Apollo.io Chief Legal Officer Megan Niedermeyer and Senior Legal Operat...

Next month, we’ll be launching our new podcast: “The Abstract.” Join Tyler Finn, Head of Community and Growth at SpotDraft, as he interviews leading general counsels, chief legal officers, and legal executives. Our conversations will cover how they’ve nurtured their careers, grown in their roles, become true operators within their businesses, and even taken on other C-suite positions. Tyler spent...