Here’s the replay of our 'Ask the Expert' event where Iris Chen and Milana Homsi McCullagh took you through their experiences of building world-class legal teams under time constraints and shared their top tips for legal professionals in the same situation.
Meet the Presenters:
Host:
Raad Ahmed, CEO & Founder at Lawtrades
Panelists:
- Iris Chen, DGC, Airbnb; former VP of Legal, Google
- Milana McCullagh, DGC, VP of Legal, Coinbase; Director of Legal, Google
Key Takeaways:
- Prioritize team building
- Be prepared to constantly adapt & re-assess goals
- Plan observation time in order to understand the “operating system” of the company
- Focus on initiatives that have the most “bang” for the company
Don’t rush to take action:
11:10-16:08
- Iris: “Ask a lot of questions and conduct your own 360°assessment”
- Spend the first month listening, reflecting, and planning
- Schedule Zoom calls to meet and assess the team
- Understand the crucial functions of the company, and where they may interact with the legal team
- Navigate the cross-functional efforts
- Milana: “You need that observation and reflection time”
- Come up with a 90-day plan
- Prioritize what needs to be done immediately, what needs to be done in 6 months, and what can be placed on the back-burner
- Take any value from previous work experience (esp. from a larger workplace) and anticipate needs accordingly
Build your Team:
16:08-25:19
- Milana: “My number one priority is recruiting and staffing top talent”
- Assess talent and figure out what you need
- Plan to spend a lot of time hiring
- Hire those that can handle complex initiatives
- Form a narrative as to why the opportunity is compelling
- Rely on networks to target candidates
- Iris: “Hire good general athletes”
- You get the best “mileage” from those who are capable of plugging into different roles and meeting the evolving needs of the business
- Assess goals of individual team members in order to match positions that align with their goals
- Put necessary time into defining and clarifying roles
- Utilize a point of contact directory, so people know who to go to when issues arise
Prioritize:
31:25-38:08
- Milana: “You can’t scale without the basics in place on the commercial side”
- Figure out a contract management solution that works
- Implement a robust and seamless deal approval process
- Build close relationships with the product team & compliance
- Make sure product managers understand your role
- Iris: “It’s challenging to make sure information is being shared with the right people at the right time”
- Utilize a “weekly report” that is shared between legal and business departments
- Forms visibility into what team members are working on while providing a window into what the business is doing
Set Expectations:
38:08-46:05
- Milana: “Articulate your expectations both in terms of the what and the how”
- Figure out what you are trying to achieve, articulate your mission & define roles appropriately
- Balance the risks & rewards
- Make space for social interactions, especially if you are a new team leader
- Set expectations not only with your team, but amongst your clients and other business partners
- Iris: “Can't emphasize enough how important it is to build trust and credibility”
- Invest in initiatives that empower your team to operate smartly, efficiently, and consistently with the standards you’ve set
Want to continue the conversation? Request access to join our exclusive community of legal professionals where Iris and Milana are answering your hypergrowth questions!
Also, look out for our next event workshop, ‘Working for yourself after in-house: legal professionals going out on their own’, on September 16th!
