Introduction: 0:00
- Introducing Susan Packal, Head of Global Legal Operations at Atlassian.
- Formerly lead or created legal ops teams at Hilton, Uber, eBay, Twiliio, and Snyk.
- Discussing the evolution and value of CLOC from its inception to now.
Building the first legal ops teams at Hilton: 3:06
- Working with forward-thinking GCs who see the value of recruiting for legal ops roles.
- Navigating an organization owned by private equity.
- Hiring staff into legal ops from adjacent functions.
- Valuing tough feedback from your GC and allowing it to focus on honing future skills.
Contemplating the chief of staff role in legal departments: 9:51
- Coming into the chief of staff role from diverse backgrounds like R&D, engineering, and Agile.
- Bringing program managers into legal teams.
- Focusing on personal branding and operational excellence to elevate the office of the GC.
Running legal operations as director and chief of staff at Twilio: 12:49
- Scaling a legal team in a fast-paced start-up environment.
- Finding success by putting the right leadership in place.
- Transitioning a new GC into your department.
Setting a strong culture in the legal department at Atlassian: 15:58
- Going beyond executing and keeping up to focus on strategy and leveraging work across teams.
- Impressing lawyers by bringing in legal ops professionals who are already technically proficient in Atlassian software like JIRA.
Comparing and Contrasting Hilton, Uber, and Atlassian: 19:36
- Valuing thorough knowledge of a business and its practices.
- Receiving support to understand the company before starting your role at Atlassian.
Considering past career missteps: 22:10
- Wishing someone had had tough conversations with her about her weaknesses earlier on.
- Understanding business needs and building a team that takes the company through the next five years of growth.
- Struggling with thankless aspects of the legal ops role.
- Acquiring a larger body of knowledge on some topics than your GC, raising their visibility, and offering support.
- Building trust with your GC by showing results.
- Emphasizing the importance of storytelling.
Book Recommendations: 29:00
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
- Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, and Roy Schwartz
What you wish you had known as a young lawyer: 32:07
- Understanding the finance side of business earlier in your career.
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