Introduction: 0:00

• Adam Greenberg, fractional general counsel at APG Advising, joins the podcast.
• Formerly general counsel at Blank Street and Ro, and Head of Legal and Public Policy at Warby Parker.

Deciding to become a start-up lawyer: 2:56

• Adam on why he joined Warby Parker.
• Working at Skadden Arps. 
• Joining a tech transactions group.
• Getting as many people to recommend you as you can find.

Dealing with government affairs issues at Warby Parker: 7:15

• Adam on operating in highly regulated spaces.
• Selling medical devices and prescription products.
• Lobbying for telehealth eye exams.

Lobbying state legislatures: 10:35

• Adam on defending against optical industry lobbying.
• Being forced to start approaching legislators. 
• Working with local lobbyists.
• Following the lead of other tech giants like AirBnB and Uber.
• Legal work that feels like sales work.

Going state to state with a small budget: 19:16

• Adam on explaining telehealth to local legislators.
• Crafting strong soundbites.
• Deciding whether to get on the government’s radar.

Becoming the first legal hire at Ro: 26:30

• Adam on expanding telehealth law.
• Using your legal team as a strategic business asset. 

Building out the legal team at Ro: 30:08

• Adam on handling government affairs himself.
• Working with a telehealth regulatory expert. 
• Sharing notes with your main competitors’ GCs.
• Fighting for asynchronous telehealth.
• Going on lobbying offensives.
• Making arguments based on each states’ political alignment.

Talking with legislators about erectile dysfunction medication: 37:10

• Adam on taking medical care seriously. 
• Destigmatizing difficult or embarrassing subjects.
• Fighting unfair regulations.

Lobbying for direct-to-consumer brands: 42:51

• Adam on relying on customer stories.
• Dealing with positive feedback as well as complaints.

Does the CEO need to be involved in state lobbying?: 45:21

• Adam on when the CEO needs to step in.

What Adam is up to now: 47:39

• Adam on enjoying a transition period.
• Advising digital health start-ups.
• Enjoying a fractional GC role at multiple companies.

Rapid-fire questions: 48:54

• Adam’s favorite part of the day-to-day.
• Professional pet peeves.

Book recommendations: 52:29

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

What Adam wishes he’d known as a young lawyer: 53:47

• Adam on not knowing about in-house counsel work in law school.

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