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Stories and perspectives to drive in house counsel leadership

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January 13, 2022

A Big Leap Into the Unknown: Career Risk and the Mission-Driven Path

Some career transitions are minor, some are transformative. How should one weigh the benefits of a new opportunity that bears great risk? In this fireside, we are with Adam Masser, Deputy General Counsel at Arcadia - a leading climatetech company - about his career path and taking risks to follow his passion for sustainability, technology and startups.

December 17, 2021

A New Year for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy & Three Legal Questions Tech Companies Should Consider

For years, technology companies of all sizes have set ambitious goals around cultivating a more diverse workforce. Immediately following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, companies and communities nationwide began to make more conscious efforts to address systemic racism and racial injustice. This is part of a broader series of social justice movements including #metoo, those supporting indigenous peoples and ongoing LGBTQ+ rights initiatives that have had a far-reaching impact on society and business. Small and mid-sized technology companies have been no exception, substantially increasing their focus on creating more diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) cultures.

December 3, 2021

Leaning in as the Startup GC

Transitioning from law firm life to a high-growth startup is rarely a smooth transition. There are inevitably surprises, curve-balls, and tough conversations that leave one hungry for guidance. In this Fireside chat, we sit down with Jeremy Muhlfelder, now the Lead Counsel at VRChat - a social virtual reality (VR) platform that allows users to easily build social VR content. We discuss his transition from Wilson Sonsini, the challenges of his new role, and advice he would give others making the same transition.

November 30, 2021

Transformative Governance Practices for Public Company Readiness

The booming 20s of the 21st century have already seen record IPOs. Prior to 2020, companies seemed to be fleeing the public markets, but the surge in SPACs that provided a faster and simpler path for many companies, helped drive the public market growth in an environment ripe with opportunity. Established companies that have weathered the storm, as well as newly formed companies born out of innovation, can take advantage of these positive market conditions.

October 15, 2021

Laura Belmont (GC of Civis Analytics) on Privacy, Legal Structure, & Career

As the level-head of the business, the GC promotes strategic influence while, at the same time, supporting crisis scenarios. A balanced approach is essential to the GC as the expectations placed upon them - integrity, leadership, knowledge - bear greater weight than many (perhaps most) roles. TechGC is all about sharing stories (war stories especially). Simply observing how others approach an issue can be great learning. In that spirit we’d like to share some perspective from Laura Belmont, General Counsel at Civis Analytics Privacy | Legal Team Structure | Career | Contracting

October 6, 2021

TechGC Executive Compensation Q&A with Gunderson Dettmer

Gunderson Dettmer executive compensation partners Liz Webb and Heather Aune participated in a closed TechGC Women's Collective dinner discussing financial wealth and stability, as well as methodologies for securing personal financial success. They provided guidance and insights on how executives and general counsels at high-growth companies should think about and approach executive compensation programs.

October 6, 2021

Building and Maintaining a Risk Assessment Program

Businesses of all sizes should prioritize developing and implementing a risk management program to protect themselves, directors, officers, and subsidiaries. Last month, Newfront’s John McCall joined panelists Andrea Gildea of Wise and Brittany DeGan of RewardStyle in TechGC’s “Building and Maintaining an Internal Risk Assessment Program” virtual panel.

September 29, 2021

3 Steps to A Strong Partnership Between Legal and Sales

Over the summer, TechGC hosted the 6th annual Fullstack General Counsels (GCs) Conference in San Francisco, a must-attend event for modern GCs that serve as strategic leaders at their organizations. TechGC is an independent, invitation-only, community platform for GCs of leading venture capital funds and high-growth technology companies.

September 6, 2021

The “New” Digital Healthcare Delivery System: How COVID-19 is Upending the Status Quo and Navigating a Dated Regulatory Paradigm

Although digital health solutions have long been a key area of strategic growth for the healthcare industry, the COVID-19 crisis accelerated what it means to deliver safe, effective, digitally-based care. As the United States shifts focus from short-term crisis response to longer term solutions, what does a digitally-driven healthcare industry look like, and how can healthcare entities maintain the highest standards of care and meet patient expectations, while constructively disrupting out-of-date practice patterns?

August 25, 2021

Solving for Board Diversity

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP was part of the recent TechGC 2021 Public Company Forum. Orrick's colleagues, Erin Connell and J.T. Ho, participated on a lively panel discussion about board diversity, and the challenges related to finding diverse, qualified board members with Elliot Mark, who serves as General Counsel of Everbridge, Inc. This post provides a summary of the key takeaways from this discussion.

June 23, 2021

The Important Choice of Counsel When Defending a D&O Claim

CAC Specialty was honored to be a part of the recent TechGC 2021 Public Company Forum. Our colleague, Jacalyn Kroupa, participated on a lively panel discussion about Directors and Officers Liability Insurance. One theme running through the presentation was the importance of choice of counsel when defending a D&O claim.

June 15, 2021

Effective Risk Management by Fostering a True Partnership between Legal and Security

We all know that, in this environment, data security remains top of mind for most organizations, and likely remains top of mind for most GCs. This article highlights key takeaways from a TechGC Panel discussion.

June 7, 2021

Best practices for Building a Remote Team Through International Hiring

On the lookout for a fantastic workforce, companies have increased hiring efforts internationally. This entails balancing between the impact and value of new global hires and varying compliance obstacles.At the same time, the pandemic has forced many employees to move homes, relocating to different jurisdictions, which adds a range of payroll, compliance, tax, and legal issues that companies need to tackle.

June 7, 2021

Considering a de-SPAC - Beware of Indemnification & Insurance at the SPAC

Many companies have taken advantage of the SPAC craze to advance their timelines for going public via a de-SPAC transaction, and they are moving quickly. While the pace may be slowing a bit, the target companies thus far have sometimes been left “holding the bag” to pay the SPACs legal costs i

March 30, 2021

How SPACs Stack Up: How we got here and where we’re going

SPACs were hardly a path of real consideration for tech companies in early 2020, and there had only been two direct listings to date. Flash forward to today and you can’t read the news without hearing about another SPAC. It’s incredible how fast this decades-old structure not only re-emerged as a viable option to consider when beginning the public offering process, but vaulted into the mainstream as an attractive path for many venture-backed companies to pursue.

February 16, 2021

Managing IP Risk & Contractual Indemnities

In a world of 1) increasingly smaller windows of time between periods of economic volatility; 2) a measurable shift over the past half century from tangible assets to intangible assets that now account for 85% of the value of the S&P 500; and 3) an increasing trend towards uncapped contractual indemnification between vendors and customers, it is clear that intellectual property infringement exposure for a technology company is a fast-evolving risk.

January 14, 2021

Accepting Imperfection: Scaling & Operating as GC

Startups naturally run mean and lean - which means startup GC’s have to work creatively to scale their legal operations. This, however, is counterintuitive to a law-firm trained lawyer who has been taught to make all their work to perfection. GC’s need efficient ways to manage and execute contracts while accepting the reality that perfection will not be achieved. This week we speak with Liz Benegas, GC of NetDocuments to share her experience in transitioning to a fast-paced GC role and her ways of hacking together unique legal operations systems.

December 18, 2020

Insurance - The GC's Role & What to Think About

The in-house general counsel, more often than not at young fast-growing companies, are unaware of the company’s insurance policy requirements (e.g.: timely notice, consent to counsel and rates), let alone what is even covered under the insurance policies, until the company and/or its directors & officers are in the throes of litigation, or being investigated by regulators, or both.

January 14, 2021

Expecting the Unexpected

GC’s are often placed in a position where they have to manage a certain level of unexpected chaos; it’s simply the nature of the job. This reality has been magnified for many GCs amidst the unforeseen events of 2020. However, it is the ideal opportunity for the GC to showcase their value and provide proper counsel during uncertain times and unexpected developments, of which there are no shortfalls in 2020.

December 3, 2020

Interviewing and Starting a new GC Role in a Virtual World

The global pandemic has certainly come with it’s business challenges, but how does it shape the way in house counsel identify, interview, and begin their new role? We sat down with Alastair Wood, GC of Rhino - a FinTech/Insurtech company where he started only a couple months ago. We discuss with Alastair his decision process in joining Rhino, what the virtual interview process was like, and now the challenges Alastair faces in being influential as GC in a remote company.

November 1, 2020

Going Through a Sale & Transitioning Out as GC

Going through an acquisition is rarely a smooth process. Issues arise in a variety of areas, ranging from due diligence to company politics. Today we are speaking with Shelley Hall, GC of K2 Software - an intelligent automation software company just acquired by Ninitex. She expands on the intelligent automation industry, her lessons from the acquisition, and how she has managed the process of transitioning “out” of her role.

November 1, 2020

Scaling Legal In The Regulatory Spotlight

The greater scale a company achieves, the larger the regulatory spotlight shines on the organization. For in house counsel who are navigating a variety of issues in the technology space, it is key to have an awareness and big-picture strategy on how to get ahead of regulatory scrutiny. Today we are speaking with Ashlie Beringer, Former Deputy GC @ Facebook who built a global legal team of over 150 attorneys over the course of 7 years. She shares her journey at Facebook and her approach to building her team, managing privacy, streamlining litigation, and how she envisions the next chapter of her career.

October 29, 2020

Ruthless Prioritization as GC

The role of GC is one of ruthless prioritization. As the team looks upon the in house counsel to balance strategic decision-making, structure important deals, and manage legal resources in the most effective way, the successful GC must be exceptional in prioritizing their action items and mapping out their playbook. This ruthless prioritization may be more important than ever as the pandemic changes business roadmaps and intertwines the personal life and work life much more closely.

October 7, 2020

Closing Remarks from TechGC's Venture Financings Forum

TechGC's 2 -day Venture Financings Forum covered numerous topics to the GC's role in fundraising in a new world. Here are some of the closing takeaways from the event Co-Chairs, Eiric Cheung, Brian Chase, and Laura Lariu.

October 1, 2020

Developing Gravitas and Becoming The Indespensable GC

Lacking gravitas can be a key reason why a GC gets replaced. To be indespensible, the GC must develop gravitas to be proactive, influence their board, hire well, and develop their team effectively.

September 17, 2020

A Co-Founder’s Perspective of Legal and the Value of General Counsel

We are joined by Sander Daniels, Co-Founder of Thumbtack, to get his perspective on legal’s value within an organization and what he looks for in a GC.

September 2, 2020

What’s Happening with VC Financings in a COVID Environment

Given the current economic climate and the unprecedented times we have been living in, it seems every aspect of life as we know it has been affected on a global scale. The pandemic, it seems, has reshaped not only our daily personal lives but it has also changed how we work. And this includes the financing world... but just how much has it changed? Have terms or the process changed? We recently had the opportunity to discuss these questions with Eric Cheung, General Counsel at FirstMark Capital and Evan Bienstock, Partner at Fenwick & West, as part of a private virtual event hosted by TechGC.

August 20, 2020

Redefining your Legal Career

Careers take interesting turns as opportunities and priorities shift. There are so many different ways to leverage a legal background for the benefit of an organization, yet much of the legal talent pool feel siloed in an area of expertise when they would like to broadened skillset and impact. Our guest, Alex Su provides a unique look into his legal career story - his struggles, aha moments, how he’s redefined his impact in the legal community, and his recommendations for those who want to do the same.

August 17, 2020

Effective Customer Communication: Bottom Lining and Context

“Bottom lining” is the ability to distill a narrative down to the core elements necessary to have the listener understand what you are conveying. “Long Talking”, where a narrative twists and bends with journeys into often unrelated facts and circumstances that don’t help the listener understand it, is the opposite. Unfortunately, there are no law school classes devoted to this practice, and we all know a professor, partner, or GC who never says in 10 words what they could say in 20.

August 6, 2020

Working With Visionary CEOs & Being a Visionary to Outside Counsel

Many GC’s in the VC-backed community report to CEOs with heightened visions for the future and for their company. As a result, General Counsels often find themselves performing a difficult balancing act between supporting their CEO and protecting their company. This Fireside with Sydney goes into the topic of managing the nuances of a visionary CEO, but also how to act as a visionary to your outside counsel to enable the CEO vision.

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