CLOC Talk

In today’s episode of CLOC Talk, recorded in person at CGI 2024 in Las Vegas, Jenn sits down for an in-depth conversation with Travis Zimbelman, a legal ops and tech in-house professional with a diverse career background from international business consultancy to roles in Google and Meta. His most recent role had him leading Meta’s legal and compliance central services team.  

They discussed the evolution of Travis’ last role and team which included project management, technology, legal operations, and elements of community and connection. 

The conversation is a story of growth, going from a team of five to dozens of employees.  A story of integration of the technology component, and a reminder of the importance of project management, learning and development within legal operations.  

Travis elaborates on the impact of generative AI and how we should all consider the proof of concept first before adopting in our workflows.  

Working at a FAANG company and legal department is a learning experience in itself. Want to find out what it's like inside the likes of Netflix, Google, or Meta? Look no further! 

Enjoy this fascinating conversation and uncover strategies for embracing change, curiosity, and partnerships while maintaining human-centered change management!

In this episode of CLOC Talk, recorded live from CGI 2024 in Las Vegas, Jenn sits down with  Pepe Toriello, from CLOC’s LATAM regional group whose based in Mexico City, and Gui Tocci, leader of CLOC’s Brazil Legal Ops regional chapter.  

They discuss the nuances and challenges of implementing Legal Operations in their regions. Pepe highlights that in Mexico, Legal Ops is often perceived narrowly as technology-focused, specifically on contracts, with general counsels yet to fully adopt it.  

Gui shares that in Brazil, Legal Ops is often mistaken for paralegal work without strategic involvement, and roles blend with other duties due to a lack of dedicated headcount.  

Both emphasize the importance of technology in gaining initial interest and the critical need for a 'translator' role to bridge gaps between legal, IT, and business teams.  

The conversation underscores the foundational stage of Legal Ops in Latin America and the efforts to evolve it toward a more strategic and integrated function. 

So, get ready to travel to LATAM, via Las Vegas, and hear a lively discussion packed with actionable insights. Enjoy! 

In this episode of CLOC Talk, recorded live from CGI 2024 in Las Vegas, guest host Adam Becker, Director of Legal Operations at Cockroach Labs, chats with seasoned legal management and coaching professional, Natalie Loeb, Founder and CEO of LOEB Leadership. 

The discussion highlights the importance of wellness in the legal profession which is critical for an industry know for high standards and a culture of perfectionism. 

Adam and Natalie examine the impact of the billable hour on lawyer well-being, the challenges in seeking help, and the widespread issue of burnout.  

Natalie emphasizes the importance of self-care, leadership modeling wellness practices, and the need for systemic support within organizations.  

If you are looking to up your all-around work-life wellness game, this conversation is for you! Enjoy! 

In today’s episode, Jenn is joined by Laura Dieudonne, fellow CLOC Board Member, and Legal Operations and Administration Director at Delta Airlines. We continue the CLOC Core conversation by diving into the nuances and importance of knowledge management systems (KM) within legal departments.

Laura shares her first-hand experience in establishing a centralized KM platform, starting with a successful pilot program run by the commercial transactions team. The platform helps store templates, responses to routine questions, and key documents, which improves efficiency and self-service access for the legal team.

They also discuss KM challenges such as resistance from seasoned professionals and maintaining up-to-date information. Laura shares her strategies for involving practice group leaders and incentivizing buy-in through incremental steps and executive endorsement.

Join us for this in-depth conversation as we discover the best KM strategies in the legal operations biz. Enjoy!

Thank you to our sponsor Sirion!!

Today we’re discussing Practice Operations in the latest episode of our CLOC CORE series. Jenn sits down with Kelli Brooks, a Senior Solutions Architect at Coinbase, and Kyle Kelly, founder and CEO of Zubu AI, and formerly an in-house litigation tech program manager at companies like Coinbase and Salesforce.

We go inside how to operationalize a legal practice area like litigation. We explore the critical balance between core and context work, the challenges of managing tech implementations, and the pivotal role of legal operations in optimizing workflows.

We'll also get into the strategic deployment of legal tech solutions and the importance of clearly defined roles and responsibilities within projects using RACI tools.

Join us for this fascinating conversation as we uncover strategies for managing legal practice operations, especially in the fast-paced tech industry. You won't want to miss it!

Special thanks to Sirion for sponsoring this episode!

Today Jenn welcomes Katrina Gowans, Director of Legal Operations & Senior Legal Counsel at IFM Investors, and Anna Golovsky, Executive Manager of Legal and Company Secretariat Operations at IAG … both of whom lead the CLOC Australia chapter. The three CLOC leaders sit down to discuss their point of view on the current state of legal operations Down Under. 

And if you are wondering why they have an audience, this conversation kicked off our live programming from the CLOC Talk stage at our 2024 Global Institute in Las Vegas. We chatted about all of the greatest hits of legal operations, like knowledge management, matter management, CLM, and the adoption of new technologies, and yes, we even touched on the prevailing topic, generative AI. 

I can’t wait to see these two powerhouses again next month when I travel to the CLOC APAC Summit, happening on August 20-21st in Sydney. See you there!!

Special thanks to Icertis for sponsoring this episode.

In this episode of CLOC Talk, Jenn sits down with the fabulous Carl Morrison, Chief of Staff at ModCounsel, and legal operations extraordinaire to discuss his experience implementing information governance (InfoGov) within corporate legal departments. 

Carl shares insightful anecdotes about the importance of preparation, communication, and collaboration within cross-functional teams to handle unforeseen obstacles effectively. 

As always with Carl, the conversation includes humorous and relatable moments and practical advice for legal operations professionals navigating complex InfoGov landscapes.

A very special thank you to our sponsor for this episode Sirion.

In today’s episode of CLOC Talk, Jenn sits down with the incredible Cassandra Worthy. Cassandra was our keynote at CGI 2024. Her message centered around change enthusiasm, a practice she developed to navigate change in corporate environments. Cassandra shares her experiences with resilience, emotional self-awareness, and the power of somatics in fostering a growth mindset. She also shares tools and techniques like performing emotional inventories, practicing nonjudgmental curiosity, promoting pro-rest resilience, and embracing low-risk failure. Aka… the activities of daily living of THE LEGAL OPS PROFESSIONAL

Learn how to become a Certified Change Enthusiast ™ and GET REGISTERED here.

In this bonus episode of CLOC Talk, Guest host and 2023 LIO winner Jen Mattson Associate Vice President of Legal Operations at Nationwide, takes the stage at CGI to speak with Tim Melchior, Sr. Legal Operations Analyst at Trane Technologies, and one of our 2024 LIO winners. 

For those of you who are new to our CLOC community, LIO or Legal Innovations in Operations is a recognition program for legal operations Innovators.

Each year we celebrate innovators in the global legal ecosystem to share the valuable contributions that they have made to the future of legal operations. 

If you are interested in learning more, check out the CLOC.org website!!! Enjoy this great conversation on the importance of keeping operations lean and mean, … the good kind of mean. Don’t actually be mean Legal Ops. Be kind. Experts say that’s key to change management.

Today, Host and CLOC President Jenn McCarron is joined by one of her favorite humans in legal ops Frances Pomposo. Frances has been a legal ops visionary at companies like Adobe, and Lyft and is currently the Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs Strategy and Operations at Splunk. She also serves on the CLOC board of directors as our treasurer.

In this episode, Frances and Jenn discuss one of their favorite things: the CLOC CORE- Organization Optimization and Health. 

The two CLOC board members explore the foundational pillars of building effective teams like:

• Starting with a clear vision, 
• the importance of career planning, 
• skill development, and 
• ensuring our team's job satisfaction. 

They also discuss how to manage constructive feedback, the necessity of community, and strategic approaches to hiring and team building tailored to different stages of a company’s growth. 

You don't want to miss all of the learnings in this action-packed episode!

Special Thanks to our sponsor for this episode Sirion.

Enjoy!