Rose Ors: Let’s define “workflow” and “workflow automation.”

Emily Teuben: A workflow is a sequence of steps involved in taking a piece of work from initiation to completion. Workflow automation puts that repeatable, manual process into an automated system that delineates what steps must be taken, who performs those steps, and how the work can be performed as efficiently as possible. The system identifies where a particular item is in the process, provides reporting on the work completed, and serves as a centralized repository for related documentation. Workflow automation simplifies the process and provides consistency in how the process is performed.

Rose Ors: How do you decide what legal workflows to automate?

Emily Teuben: Although there are no set criteria, high-volume, low-risk workflows usually are the first candidates for automation. Beyond that, any process that is repeatable is a good candidate, especially if it involves email approvals, manual spreadsheets to track forms, or the same standard questions being asked every time.

Rose Ors: Is there some work in which the risk is too high to automate?

Emily Teuben: I wouldn’t say so. I have automated some very complex workflows involving high-risk and sensitive information. Of course, those applications demanded stringent controls over the system and information security.

Rose Ors: How do you start?

Emily Teuben: We ask everyone involved to describe the manual process today. Who performs what steps? Who are the users who interact with the process? What information do you see? What happens to a document before it reaches your desk and after it leaves? I’ve found it helpful to provide users with a list of questions they need to answer before automating.

Understanding the current process is necessary, but you never want to automate an inefficient process. You want to improve the workflow before you automate it. That involves identifying common errors, bottlenecks, and other pain points. For example, if the manual process requires sending constant email reminders to get X done, that headache can be relieved by having the system send automated reminders at specified intervals.

Rose Ors: What are the benefits of workflow automation?

Emily Teuben: Workflow automation transforms the way we approach legal work. It takes the noise off of our legal team members’ plates and frees them to focus on higher-value work. Automation also typically shortens cycle times and often increases collaboration by providing transparency and visibility into each step of the workflow, making it easier for individuals and teams to work together.

Workflow automation also reduces the legal department’s workload by providing self-service solutions that users of our services can employ without the legal team’s involvement. When work goes to the legal department, the legal team has all the critical information it needs because the automated system immediately provides it.

Rose Ors: What are examples of workflows that benefit from automation?

Emily Teuben: Contract formation and review is a prime example. NDAs [Non-disclosure agreements] are contracts that fall into the high-volume, low-risk category. Automating them reduces the cycle time from creation through approval, and they can be a good starting point for people to begin visualizing how they can leverage technology to their benefit.

When I was at NetApp, we increased our efficiency and service quality by rolling out a contract management system that automatically alerted our sales team and us 90 days before a contract expired. The automated alert system replaced a time-consuming manual process that required inputting each contract into a spreadsheet and periodically tracking expiration dates and other critical data. Automation made the process faster and far more reliable and accurate. The 90-day notification also eliminated the risk of continuing to do business without having a valid contract. Similarly, the 90-day window gave us time to evaluate the pros and cons of renewing or revising our agreements before they expired.

Yet, contracts are just the tip of the iceberg 鈥� any manual process is a great candidate for automation. Compliance approvals, travel approvals, matter intake processes, M&A disclosure notifications, and escrow sweeps can all be automated.

Rose Ors: What hurdles do you encounter in adopting workflow automation, and how do you overcome them?

Emily Teuben: Change management is everything in legal operations. First and foremost, we need to understand with whom we’re working and communicate “what’s in it for them.” Why does this matter? How will this improve their day-to-day? How will this help up-level their work so they can focus on the most complex legal issues rather than the daily voluminous tasks that come across their desk?

Workflow automation transforms the way we approach legal work. It takes the noise off of our legal team members’ plates and frees them to focus on higher-value work.

What we do first is communicate with people early and often. As I previously mentioned, we start by asking everyone involved what the process is today, their pain points, and what problems we’re trying to solve. Seeking their input gives them a sense of ownership while identifying possible improvements and starts them focusing on the benefits of changing the process.

Before rolling out a new automated system, however, it must undergo User Acceptance Testing. This testing gives the users insight into exactly how the process is changing and how it will improve. It also gives them a unique opportunity to provide feedback and identify where the process can be further enhanced before we go live. Those who offer positive feedback can become evangelists for the project within their group.

Rose Ors: How do you quantify the benefits of workflow automation?

Emily Teuben: Before starting workflow automation, it’s helpful to have metrics quantifying the volume of work performed, how long it takes to do that work, and who is doing it. This is much easier said than done, as many of these processes are fully manual. That said, it’s okay to put metrics together based on anecdotes if that’s all you have. Something is better than nothing. Comparing those metrics after the workflow has been automated determines how successful a project was and that can help shape future projects.

We remind people regularly that they won’t always see “hard savings” from automating workflows. The goal of workflow automation is not headcount reduction. The goal is to allow the legal team to focus on impactful legal work. However, there should be “soft savings” as the legal team increases the number of matters it handles without increasing headcount.

Rose Ors: What advice would you give a legal department beginning its workflow automation journey?

Emily Teuben: Just start. The best way to learn is to get hands-on experience with the technology and the experience of redesigning a process. Choose a single manual workflow as a pilot to test the initiative. Starting with a single process allows you to get exposure to the technology, learn what works and what doesn’t, and enables you to iron out the kinks before rolling it out to the larger organization.

The goal is to get a quick win, refine and standardize your protocols, and apply them to the next automation challenge.

In this installment of听In Practice, Rose Ors, the CEO of ClientSmart, speaks to Laura Stevens, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for education technology company , about why she places so much importance on the professional development of her team and how she goes about doing it.

Rose Ors: Why do you place a premium on learning and professional development?

Laura Stevens: We all want to work for an organization that values and supports personal and professional growth. One of the reasons I joined Cengage was that its core purpose 鈥� to facilitate learning for everyone 鈥� so perfectly aligns with my profound interest in developing myself and others. In my experience, talent development is among the most valuable investment an organization can make to attract and retain a highly diverse team of people. We all know the numbers; companies are losing talent at an unprecedented pace. One of the top reasons for the Great Resignation is that employees are not advancing because they aren鈥檛 being given opportunities to grow.

Rose Ors: How do you help your team grow and develop?

Laura Stevens: I am intentional about fostering a learning culture within the department that supports our ability to serve the business better. For two years we held monthly lunch and learn sessions with senior leaders from the strategy group, marketing, HR, public affairs, finance, IT, communications, and other key functions. The sessions gave my team greater visibility into what was going on in the various business units. The team also learned some nuts and bolts; for example, the finance group walked them through the legal department’s budget process and how to read a balance sheet.

Rose Ors: I imagine the sessions also fostered human connections among your team and the leaders.

Laura Stevens: Absolutely. When our Chief Information Officer joined us at one of these sessions, he not only talked shop, he spoke candidly about his career 鈥� the ups and the downs 鈥� and his interests and hobbies. My team was spellbound and asked him a ton of questions. It was fantastic to witness how his openness and vulnerability impacted all of us in only an hour. It fostered a palpable connection.

Rose Ors: How else do you develop your team?

Laura Stevens: Stretch assignments are critical because the projects that people work on or lead are what truly make a difference in their career trajectories. As the name connotes, a stretch project entails learning something new. So, it falls on me to be clear that the assignment is a career-enhancing opportunity. The person across the desk or screen from me needs to walk away feeling excited, not burdened by the challenge.

I also believe in the power of having a business coach. I have one, so I speak from experience. If I think a team member is an excellent candidate for coaching, how I talk to them about it is all-important.

I could begin by pointing out problems and how a coach can help fix them 鈥� not a productive approach. What I do say 鈥� and what I also mean 鈥� is: 鈥榊ou have great potential and I want to have you work with a coach. We want to invest in you.鈥� It is a conversation that lets the person know they are valued.

Rose Ors: What role does feedback play?

Laura Stevens: In my experience, feedback is a highly effective form of coaching when done on an ongoing basis.

Establishing a regular stream of clear and constructive feedback builds trust and ensures everyone is on the same page about what success looks like and what is required to get there. Something one of my team members recently said that has resonated with me in my own management style is 鈥淐larity is kindness.鈥�

Rose Ors: What role does creating an environment of psychological safety play in fostering learning?

Laura Stevens: We talk a lot about the importance of showing up for each other in ways that build a workplace where collaboration, trust, and transparency are lived and felt. These workplace traits provide the psychological safety that we need to learn. Why? Because a big part of learning and growing is asking questions, asking for help, sharing ideas, and sometimes failing.

Rose Ors: What are the benefits of your approach to talent development?

Laura Stevens: We have a high retention rate. We also have people who leave and come back. I am also very proud that for the last several years, Cengage’s annual employee engagement survey has the legal department either first or tied for first place as the most engaged group.

Rose Ors: Now my final question. How do you model a growth mindset?

Laura Stevens: The role of any leader is to model the behavior they want to see. As a naturally curious person, I am always looking to learn new things. I make it a practice to talk with my teams about what I am learning from the podcasts I listen to and the books and articles I read.

They know I work with an executive coach, and I share with them what I am working on with her and what I am learning along the journey. I also encourage them to follow my lead and join and actively participate in external professional networks. These networks are a wonderful place to meet new people, exchange ideas, get advice, and learn about volunteer opportunities.

When I walk into a room or join a meeting and hear my team excitedly talking about an article or book they’ve read or a podcast they鈥檝e stumbled upon, I feel proud and energized that I have helped create a place where such conversation flows.

In this installment of In Practice, Rose Ors, the CEO of ClientSmart, spoke with three CLOs about their role as members of the C-Suite, how they work to ensure their enterprise鈥檚 growth and sustainability, and their primary function to safe-guard the company.

Business partner in the C-Suite

As one of a corporation鈥檚 top executives, the CLO is 鈥渋n the room鈥� with the CEO, the CFO, and the rest of the C-Suite; and as an enterprise leader, the CLO鈥檚 legal acumen is table stakes. 鈥淭he most important skill a CLO brings to the table is sound business judgment,鈥� says Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at , a Fortune 150 energy holding company. 鈥淟egal expertise can be bought.鈥�

Alan Tse, Global Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at (JLL), a real estate services firm operating in 80 countries, agrees. 鈥淢y role in these meetings is not to expound about the law. It鈥檚 to focus on our strategic objective, ask the big-picture questions, and be a problem solver.鈥�

Joanne Caruso, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, at , a global design, engineering, and technology-driven solutions company, working with businesses, cities, and governments in 50 countries, explains that legal skills take a back seat in these conversations. 鈥淢y role requires not only that I understand the strategy and help with its successful execution,鈥� Caruso says. 鈥淚 am also involved in its development.鈥�

Trusted advisor in the boardroom

Establishing a relationship based on trust and transparency between the CLO and the board has always been essential. Boards depend on the CLO to provide information vital to their ability to exercise their fiduciary and oversight duties. 鈥淭he board expects me to provide proactive advice on the company, industry, and competitive landscape,鈥� says Ghartey-Tagoe. 鈥淭hey expect me to help identify issues before they become legal risks.鈥� And at no other time has educating the board on the rapidly changing and sometimes discordant regulatory landscape been more crucial than now.

The environmental, social and governance (ESG) area is a prime example. As corporate secretary, Ghartey-Tagoe ensures that Duke Energy鈥檚 board is up to date on the company鈥檚 efforts in this vital area, including updating the board on the company鈥檚 climate initiatives and progress on targets and making more formal presentations. 鈥淎s the stewards of our company鈥檚 long-term value, the board鈥檚 environmental oversight role is critical. We aim to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The board entrusts the Duke Energy management team and me to help them understand what that means and how we will get there,鈥� Ghartey-Tagoe says.

Similarly, Caruso and Tse keep their corporate boards abreast of all critical ESG-related developments.

Guardian of corporate ethics

Although CLOs are expected to help drive business growth, they continue to have the duty of ensuring that their companies act with the highest ethical standards. This can be famously summed up by Benjamin W. Heineman Jr., former general counsel of General Electric, who wrote: 鈥淔or the lawyer-statesperson, the first question is: 鈥業s it legal?鈥� But the ultimate question is: 鈥業s it right?鈥欌��

For Duke Energy, having a reputation for doing the right thing is the basis for maintaining 鈥渆xcellent relationships with our stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities we serve,鈥� explains Ghartey-Tagoe, adding that in a highly regulated industry like energy, trust and transparency are essential to have a productive relationship with regulators at the federal and state levels.

Tse and Caruso, whose companies are global, both cited the crisis in Ukraine as a real-time example of how companies are being asked to do the right thing. 鈥淭he overwhelming majority of the world is looking at major corporations doing business in Russia and asking, 鈥楢re you guys going to pull out of Russia?鈥欌�� says JLL鈥檚 Tse. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no law that says that we have to leave. But guess what? We are leaving Russia because, for us, it is clearly the right thing to do.鈥�

Although Jacobs does not do business in Russia, Caruso says the company is looking for ways to assist their employees working in Ukraine and other countries like Poland who have family in Ukraine or are otherwise impacted by the war. Recently, Jacobs鈥� executive team gathered to discuss what the company should do to help its employees and clients impacted by the war, she says. 鈥淚 will never forget how our CEO began the meeting by asking the most profound question, 鈥榃ell, what would we do if it was one of us?鈥欌��

Leader of the law department & beyond

CLO鈥檚 widening circle of influence is borne out by the increasing number of functions outside of the corporate law department that now report to them. According to the 鈥檚 2022 Chief Legal Officers Survey, 88% of CLOs oversee compliance, 54% assume the role of corporate secretary, close to 50% oversee ethics and privacy, 25% oversee ESG, and 24% lead business risk. Interestingly, the survey also found that the trend took a sharp upward turn in 2020.

Ghartey-Tagoe, Tse, and Caruso view their broadening oversight responsibilities as a reflection of the areas that have become mission-critical. At Duke Energy, for example, the internal audit and the ethics and compliance teams report to Ghartey-Tagoe. At Jacobs, the global security team and the Sales Center of Excellence team report to Caruso; and, at JLL, Tse oversees the business continuity and risk teams. From an organizational perspective, having these functions report to the CLO also underscores the need for greater collaboration among these functions.

Conclusions

Chief legal officers鈥� place at the executive table and the boardroom elevates their influence as leaders, strategists, and advisors. Extending their remit outside the law department into other strategically significant functions 鈥� a trend that is likely to continue 鈥� will only widen their sphere of influence and deepen their business impact.

In this installment of In Practice, Rose Ors, CEO of ClientSmart, spoke to Michelle-Kim Cohn, Deputy General Counsel at Dassault Syst猫mes, about how the global technology company employs scenario planning and simulations to prepare the company to respond to low- and high-probability, high-impact risks.

Rose Ors: Why do you engage in scenario planning and simulations?听

Michelle-Kim Cohen: These tools are extremely valuable to plan effective ways for the company to respond in an actual crisis. During the scenario analysis phase, we examine trends and other data to identify contingencies that, if they occur, will significantly impact company operations. The analysis does not identify every possible contingency 鈥� the COVID-19 pandemic is a great unforeseen example 鈥� nor precisely how the contingency will unfold. What the process does is identify plausible scenarios.

We establish written policies and procedures for each event and develop the appropriate training tools. We test the efficacy of our crisis response tools with simulations 鈥� what we call drills 鈥� in low-stress environments. Each drill is a dress rehearsal that informs us on what steps work well and what steps must be changed and refined before an actual crisis hits. These drills give us a lens into the readiness of the response team and other company personnel.

It is a given that human error will be a factor in high-stress situations. The goal is to minimize errors through regular training and practice.

Rose Ors: What are other benefits?听

Michelle-Kim Cohen:听Another significant benefit is the high level of trust that the process builds among the scenario-planning team members. Most of our teams are composed of legal and a cross-section of subject-matter experts from other business units. When we come together, we leave our functional silos and don a mindset where learning from and respecting divergent viewpoints matters.

It is a given that human error will be a factor in high-stress situations. The goal is to minimize errors through regular training and practice.

Another benefit of our work on scenarios has played out in our response to the pandemic. Because of the geographies in which we operate, we plan for and practice our response to natural disasters 鈥� fires, earthquakes, extreme weather. Although we had no response plan for a health crisis, our natural disaster plans and drills allowed us to quickly pivot to a full-remote operation and again pivot to returning to the office. Our natural disaster response strategy proved invaluable, particularly our emergency communication and IT plans. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, unlike most natural disasters, has been a far more prolonged crisis that requires a different playbook, which continues to evolve.

Rose Ors: Can you say more about the composition of the scenario team?听

Michelle-Kim Cohen: A member of our legal team always has a seat at the table. The team can also include a member from ethics and compliance, human resources, IT, communications, safety and security, and other units whose expertise is needed for each scenario. Our policies and drills aim to protect our employees’ health and safety, the privacy of our stakeholders, and our ability to support our customers.

The nature of the work requires that we understand our respective roles and responsibilities and join together as a crisis response team that can make quick decisions and act in a coordinated way within a high-stress, fast-moving environment.

Rose Ors: Let’s now talk more about the simulations and drills you conduct. What are some examples?听

Michelle-Kim Cohen:听In addition to drills听on what to do听in response to natural disasters, we conduct simulations that test our readiness to respond if the government pays us a surprise visit. This scenario is most plausible for our offices operating in the European Union but also can occur in the US. We make the exercise mirror an actual event as closely as possible.

We also conduct drills to prepare the company for geopolitical risk. In Latin America, for example, we run drills on responding to political demonstrations and other types of political events that could impact operations. Although not drills, we conduct active shooter training in North America 鈥� live classroom-type training and online exercise in all our offices.

Rose Ors: Do you debrief after each actual event or simulation?

Michelle-Kim Cohen: We do a debrief right after every incident response 鈥� actual or simulated. We call the debrief an audit, and it鈥檚 a critical step. The audit may consist of several group emails or an all-hands meeting, depending on the scenario. In either case, we assess our strengths and vulnerabilities and then take the necessary steps to improve the plans and training. In addition to these audits, we regularly evaluate our written policies and procedures. The pandemic drove home an important lesson: complacency is not an option.

Rose Ors: Where do you store the plans and processes 鈥� decision trees and the like 鈥� so that everyone who needs to access them in a high-stress scenario can access them quickly?听

Michelle-Kim Cohen:听Your听question came up recently during a panel I was on that was organized by the Association of Corporate Counsel. It was interesting to see so many hands go up when the moderator asked how many kept their plans in a physical binder in their office. My advice is to store the most up-to-date procedures on whatever secure company system you use, so it is available from a mobile device.

Rose Ors: How do you measure the success of each scenario response in an actual crisis?

Michelle-Kim Cohen:听The goal is not to execute everything flawlessly 鈥� that is an impossibility. The goal is to perform well enough where the听principal objective of the response is achieved. So, if the aim during a cyberattack is to protect sensitive data from being stolen, the objective is met. Objectives range from business continuity to employee safety to regulatory compliance.

In an ongoing crisis 鈥� the pandemic is an apt example 鈥� our goals evolved as the state of the pandemic evolved and ranged from the speed we transitioned to remote work to the effectiveness of our communications with employees and customers.

Rose Ors: How key is leadership-level participation during the scenario planning process?

Michelle-Kim Cohen: C-Suite support is always essential to developing a culture that emphasizes risk intelligence and response preparedness. The leadership must also signal to the workforce that preparedness is a high priority by modeling the behavior they expect.

Cooney: Day & Zimmermann鈥檚 business operations require it to on-board and off-board tens of thousands of employees and consultants each year in high-threat, blue collar, white collar, and safety-sensitive environments. Our attorneys must intimately understand these environments, be embedded in business operations, and partner with business leaders to identify, mitigate, and resolve legal risks quickly.

PLJ: How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted the way the law department operates?

Cooney: We experienced a significant increase in workload due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We provided nuanced advice on legislation and its impact on the company, particularly related to Section 3610 of the CARES Act, which allows federal agencies to reimburse contractors for paid leave for employees who were unable to access worksites and unable to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read in the Winter 2022 issue of Practical Law The Journal: Transactions & Business.

We also continue to manage vaccine and mask compliance through the constantly changing laws, regulations, and guidance that impact our sites across the country. Most of the law department has been remote since March 2020, so we make sure to stay in constant contact with business leaders to let them know we are here to support them.

PLJ: How does the law department avoid being perceived as the 鈥渙ffice of no鈥� while still ensuring it helps the client avoid liability?

Cooney: When I first joined Day & Zimmermann as a Division General Counsel, I inherited a team which was perceived as the office of no. I worked very hard to change that perception by mentoring my team to become constructive partners to the business, rather than an impediment.

As General Counsel, my team constantly hears me say that our business leaders are our clients and should be treated just like any law firm would treat a client. A law firm would never tersely tell a client 鈥渘o, you can鈥檛 do that,鈥� and nor should we. Instead, we collaborate with our colleagues to better understand their goals, while discussing the risks and sometimes proposing alternative courses of action, with the goal of reaching the best solution possible.

We also distinguish between real and probable legal risk, as compared to academic risk (the kind that you write about on a law school exam). Approaching situations in this way not only assists our clients in avoiding liability, but also encourages them to come back to us.

PLJ: What is the best career advice you have ever received?

Cooney: Advocate for yourself.

PLJ: What advice would you give to a prospective General Counsel?

Cooney: You do not have to be a subject matter expert in all areas of law to be a General Counsel. You just have to be a good leader.

Practical Law is online legal know-how to help you work smarter and faster. Learn more at听.

Shah: Our scope of responsibilities is considered typical for in-house attorneys. We serve as the bridge between business stakeholders and external counsel to determine the appropriate litigation strategy that will produce the best results for Valiant.

PLJ: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way your department operates, and do you think any of the changes will continue to be employed beyond the pandemic?

Shah: The pandemic challenged our team to remain connected in a remote working environment. Before COVID-19, most team members were in the office every day, which facilitated organic collaboration and discussion about issues we were resolving. Now, in today’s hybrid workforce, we must be more intentional to stay connected and maintain strong synergy.

You can read in the Winter 2022 issue of Practical Law The Journal: Litigation (PLJ) here.

PLJ: What types of issues will cause you to turn to outside counsel?

Shah: Since Valiant operates globally and in a highly regulated industry, we typically turn to outside counsel for international disputes, mergers & acquisitions and other commercial matters, litigation in the U.S. and abroad, and other disputes.

PLJ: What three things does a law firm need to do to impress you?

Shah: A firm should:

• • • be responsive;
    • demonstrate experience for the specific issues we bring to them; and
    • acknowledge the time and budget pressures that in-house counsel must balance when engaging external counsel.

PLJ: What best practices do you utilize when conducting internal investigations?Shah: My team focuses on maintaining confidence in the investigation process by:

• • • following up with reporters early and often;
    • maintaining a consistent procedure; and
    • completing our fact-finding as fast as practicable to reach a prompt resolution.

Where appropriate, we also use the results of investigations to develop lessons learned, trainings, and communications to our employees to increase awareness.

PLJ: As law departments’ responsibilities evolve, what skills or competencies should in-house counsel develop to support the company’s legal and operational needs?

Shah: Emotional intelligence and clear communication are the most important skills that in-house attorneys should develop to expand their sphere of influence, both internally and externally. To further support emerging departmental or organizational needs, I also recommend that in-house counsel develop a working knowledge of:

• • • finance and accounting principles;
    • business development processes;
    • operational priorities; and
    • industry trends.

PLJ: What advice would you give to prospective in-house litigation counsel?

Shah: Take every opportunity to learn about the business 鈥� how the products work, what services the company provides, and how the company measures success. The more you understand about how the company operates, the more effective you will be in the role.

Practical Law is online legal know-how to help you work smarter and faster. Learn more at听.

Pinkston: To handle the broad legal challenges and needs of a global health care company, the law department is organized in a matrix. Each of our attorneys has a functional home (such as patent, regulatory, human resources, and commercial), and each is a member of several legal teams we have formed to support our various business units and functions.

Our non-attorney professionals, including a senior manager of legal operations, are critical to our team. We also supplement our internal team with skilled external attorneys and service providers. All of our professionals are trained to recognize and respond to the legal issues most relevant to Edwards.

PLJ: What are the top goals or areas of focus for the law department?

Pinkston: At Edwards, our purpose is to provide innovative solutions for patients fighting cardiovascular disease. That purpose is articulated in detail in our strategy and in the tools we use to execute that strategy. In a recent survey of our global team, 90% of Edwards鈥� employees said they think about patients as they make decisions in their daily work. We know that if we can save and improve patients鈥� lives, Edwards and all of its stakeholders, including our communities, employees, and shareholders, can thrive.

Read in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Practical Law The Journal: Transactions & Business.

As a member of the executive leadership team, I serve on Edwards鈥� governing body, which is responsible for building our corporate strategy in alignment with our corporate purpose. Each year, we are charged with ensuring this strategy is enforced, implemented, and modified, as needed, so we can continue to provide long-term value and deliver on our mission of providing innovative solutions to our patients.

As General Counsel, I focus on making sure that my law department teammates are closely aligned with Edwards鈥� strategy and that they have everything they need to succeed. While all departments at Edwards are integral to executing this strategy, the law department is uniquely tasked with supporting our mission through an expert understanding of the laws and regulations that guide our industry.

Our law department addresses a very diverse set of legal challenges, with many of our valuable contributions relating to health care regulation and compliance, intellectual property, and corporate governance.

PLJ: How does the law department avoid being perceived as the 鈥渙ffice of no鈥� while still ensuring it helps Edwards avoid liability?

Pinkston: Fortunately, Edwards鈥� business leaders and legal team are closely aligned. We are all committed to serving patients and doing so in compliance with applicable laws, as well as Edwards鈥� ethical requirements. Moreover, because our attorneys are steeped in the businesses they serve, our legal and business teams are better able to collaborate and find innovative solutions to best serve our strategy and purpose.

PLJ: If not an attorney, what would you wish to be?

Pinkston: I would be a good golfer and a great chef, if you permit me to imagine that I have talent in these areas.

PLJ: What is the best career advice you have ever received?

Pinkston: Do not take on a job or task for which you are not qualified to succeed. Continue to learn new skills and practice the skills you have, with an eye focused on contributing value.

PLJ: What advice would you give to a prospective general counsel?

Pinkston: Know your company鈥檚 strategy. To succeed, you must contribute to it. To be fulfilled, you must believe in it.

Practical Law is online legal know-how to help you work smarter and faster. Learn more at听.

Why is communication so central to establishing, enhancing, and cultivating a vibrant purpose and culture? Because communication is a significant way that an organization signals why it exists and what it values. Indeed, the pandemic placed a spotlight on the critical role communication plays in keeping purpose and culture alive.

The who 鈥� Communicating purpose and culture starts at the top but should not stop with the CEO, the C-suite, or other traditional leadership roles. Organizations should also enlist their HR, communications, and design teams to collaborate to fashion engaging ways of bringing organizational purpose and culture to life.

For more on the importance of bringing purpose & culture into your workplace, see our In Practice interview with Dev Stahlkopf of Cisco.

Similarly, these teams should roll out programs to train front-line managers, team leaders, and other group leaders to be purpose and cultural champions and ambassadors.

The how 鈥� There is a myriad of ways to bring an organization鈥檚 purpose and culture to life. Of course, how an organization produces the goods and services it offers tell volumes about a company鈥檚 purpose and culture; as does an organization鈥檚 policies, benefits, and programs. But to keep the heartbeat of purpose and culture vibrant requires more, including:

• • • Townhalls, forums & roundtables 鈥� These gatherings (in-person or virtual) can be large or small, and can be led by a range of leaders from the CEO to other members of the C-suite (such as the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer), unit heads (for example, the head of Product Development), and the leads of special projects (such as the head of Community Outreach).
    • Celebrations 鈥� These gatherings (again, in-person or virtual) bring together the whole organization or groups within the organization to celebrate milestones, anniversaries, and other achievements. They celebrate outcomes that support purpose and culture in tangible ways.
    • Retreats 鈥� Holding retreats or similar gatherings provides a space for employee groups to strengthen personal bonds, engage in creative and playful activities, and discuss crucial work challenges and opportunities in a relaxed and energizing environment.
    • Coffee meet-ups, Happy Hours, book clubs, meditation & gratitude sessions 鈥� These informal gatherings help enhance the workforce experience in ways that energize organizational culture through a sense of community and connectedness.
    • Blogs, podcasts & videos 鈥� These communication channels, in addition to sharing company news, offer an opportunity to spotlight the contributions and success stories of teams and individuals creatively and poignantly.
    • Feedback loops 鈥� Employee surveys, polls, and other feedback tools give employees a direct way to share how they experience their organization鈥檚 purpose and culture.
    • Employee confidential hotline 鈥� An organization鈥檚 purpose and culture are protected by providing employees a safe way to call out behaviors that are inconsistent with what the organization values. A confidential hotline or similar reporting vehicle sends a strong signal that everyone in the organization is a guardian of those values.

Communication is oxygen for organizations 鈥� and organizations that utilize communication as a key enabler of purpose and culture will reap the benefits of an engaged workforce, one that demonstrates the purpose and culture of the organization through everyday actions and interactions.

Rose Ors: How is Cisco’s purpose reflected in what the company does?

Dev Stahlkopf:听As someone who is new to the company, I am still learning about all the ways Cisco brings that to life, but I will tell you it is palpable in the company’s culture. Looking outward, it means the company is profoundly aware of and is actively committed to doing good for the benefit of all its stakeholders. It means we share our technology and expertise to better the lives of those in our community. It means we partner with other organizations to address problems, such as global hunger. Looking inward, we want to unleash the full power of our employees to help ensure the company realizes its purpose.

Rose Ors: How does the law department serve the community?

Dev Stahlkopf:听The law department serves the immediate community by providing pro bono legal services. Locally, our pro bono program includes a long-standing partnership with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, helping low-income clients address legal matters, such as landlord-tenant disputes. I am working with our pro bono steering committee to determine how we can expand our program and better align it with the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility goals.

The Cisco legal team also serves the broader community via involvement in outside organizations, such as the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), where I am a board member. LCLD is comprised of 350 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who work together to achieve a common purpose: to increase the pipeline of diverse leaders in the legal industry. One of the many reasons I’m proud of being part of LCLD is that each member has committed to being held accountable for an outcome they have pledged to achieve. My personal pledge includes adopting practices like diverse slating requirements to increase diversity in hiring, increasing transparency for career development opportunities, ensuring that diverse succession plans are in place for all senior roles, and driving accountability by making diversity and inclusion a factor in leader performance expectations.

Rose Ors:听You said that unleashing the full power of its employees will help Cisco power an inclusive future for all. What’s the connection?

Dev Stahlkopf:听The more fully employees utilize their potential, the more productive they become. The more productive our employees, the more Cisco can achieve. Thus, we need to help employees reach their potential.

When I refer to productivity, I think of it in broader terms than merely the number of sales made, contracts executed, or lines of code written. I think of it as a sustainable employee experience that helps increase the quality and innovation of the work performed, not merely the quantity. Developing such a sustainable experience requires us to think broadly about employee well-being.

Rose Ors: Is this where conscious culture comes in?

Dev Stahlkopf:听Exactly. Our culture involves creating an inclusive, diverse environment that positively impacts people. It emphasizes the everyday interactions people have with their leaders and colleagues. The culture is “conscious” because it requires us to be aware of and accountable for what’s working, what’s not, and how to improve. It goes beyond the mere concept of inclusion and diversity and forces you to decide what actions to take.

Rose Ors: What are examples of company programs designed to enhance employee well-being and help employees reach their full potential?

Dev Stahlkopf: We participate in a Cisco sponsorship initiative called The Multiplier Effect (TME). The company asks every one of our leaders to sponsor one or more individuals who differ from them in some aspect, whether it be gender, race, culture, generation, orientation, or ethnicity. TME requires those who participate in the program to be advocates and actively seek ways to increase the sponsees’ exposure and access to other leaders.

For more on how your legal team can promote your company鈥檚 purpose and culture, see听our听In Practice Sidebar听here.

Our data shows that since the initiative launched in 2017, TME has exceeded expectations on two fronts: the number of leaders who have become sponsors and the positive impact on the career trajectory of sponsees.

Rose Ors: What has been the impact on sponsees?

Dev Stahlkopf: Our data shows that employees who gain sponsors through the initiative are, on average, 1陆-times more likely to be promoted than those who do not. Certain employees experience an even higher promotion rate, including Black and Asian employees (2.7-times more likely) and Hispanic employees (3.2-times more likely).

Rose Ors: Can you describe a program aimed at employee well-being?

Dev Stahlkopf: In response to the ongoing stress of the pandemic, Cisco has rolled out the “A Day for Me” program to foster and support our collective mental health. The company encourages everyone a few weeks in advance to take a designated company-paid day off 鈥� essentially a pop-up wellness day.听

Rose Ors: Moving now to the legal department, what do you do in everyday interactions with your legal department team to foster a positive, inclusive environment?

Dev Stahlkopf:听I think we all need to feel like our voice matters where we work. We need to be seen, valued, and respected. Deep listening is one way I communicate that I see and care for each member of our team. Deep listening means concentrating on what someone is saying without interrupting them and not thinking about my response until they are finished. Whatever form the conversation takes, I assume good intent on everyone’s part. And finally, if someone is sharing a problem or opportunity, I ask: How can I help?

Another way for people to be seen and valued is a gratitude practice. I start every one of my leadership team meetings having each person, myself included, share what they are grateful for that day or week. More often than not, what is shared is personal. And what is shared is not always about work. Indeed, people share personal stories and not just about the easy things.

This practice allows each of us not only to pause and reflect, it also allows us to be vulnerable with each other in a psychologically safe space.

Rose Ors: I imagine your vulnerability during the gratitude practice allows others to be candid and vulnerable as well.

Dev Stahlkopf:听Absolutely. It is a lesson I have learned over the course of my career. The best leaders I have worked with have been the ones who have been comfortable saying, “Hey, this week was hard,” or “I have this thing going on in my life, and I apologize for being a bit disconnected in the meeting.” It is their openness that permits everybody else to be candid.

Erin Ziaja: Since the courts resumed regular operations in 2021, there has been a great amount of case management activity on existing matters that had largely been on hold.

Additionally, despite technology assistance for functions such as implementing legal holds and invoice processing, the administrative tasks associated with managing litigation are incredibly time-consuming.

PLJ: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the way your department operates?

Erin Ziaja: As a global company, NFP’s legal department was used to providing remote assistance. Now, it just happens to be from our kitchen tables. We formalized weekly team meetings to check in on each other and our work progress. Connecting, even if only through Zoom, provided insight into each other’s personal lives, such as by allowing people to meet each other’s kids and pets, and made for a more cohesive team. Seeing the success of working from home, NFP will continue utilizing a hybrid work model.

Read in the December 2021/January 2022 issue of Practical Law The Journal: Litigation (PLJ)

PLJ: What types of issues will cause you to turn to outside counsel?

Erin Ziaja: Increasingly, we utilize regional counsel to proactively assess the impact that state law changes may have on the organization. Additionally, we are mindful of the implications for attorney-client privilege in highly sensitive matters and will engage outside counsel to oversee the investigatory process.

PLJ: What three things does a law firm need to do to impress you?

Erin Ziaja: A law firm should:

• Quickly establish subject matter expertise and a well-articulated litigation strategy.
• Use NFP’s time and money wisely.
• Staff our cases with a diverse team of smart attorneys.

PLJ: What is the best career advice you ever received?

Erin Ziaja: Take your job seriously, but do not take yourself too seriously. In litigation, clients are often stressed, angry, or worried. Your job is to get them through that tough time to the best possible outcome. If you can do that with humor and humility, you will have better interactions and quicker resolutions.

PLJ: What is one mistake you made early on in your legal career and what did you learn from it?

Erin Ziaja: I never networked. I thought it was enough to keep my head down and produce good work, but that is not the case. You must put yourself out there. That was hard for an introvert like me until I realized I had been conflating networking with going to large, formal networking events. Now, I focus on small group activities I enjoy, like lunch with colleagues and volunteering. I have even networked over goat yoga.

PLJ: What advice would you give to prospective in-house litigation counsel?

Erin Ziaja: Know that as in-house counsel, you will acquire new skills in areas such as finance or business management, but your litigation skills will deteriorate. It is unlikely that there will be any more adrenaline-pumping moments, like running into court for a temporary restraining order, or war stories about how you got the admission on cross-examination. For most of us who transition to in-house, that chapter is closed, which can be hard for a litigator to accept.

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