CCBJ February 2024 Edition

Bring Your Whole Self to Work to Be A Better Leader

NISHAT RUITER, GENERAL COUNSEL, TED CONFERENCES, SHARES HER BEST ADVICE TO BE A MORE EFFECTIVE LEADER.

INSIDE

Bring Your Whole Self to Work to Be A Better Leader

FRONT

Case Study: Serving Your Legal Operations Team Effectively AND MORE!

The participants in the CCBJ Network demonstrate, through their many contributions, their unwavering commitment to the advancement and success of corporate law departments. The engagement and support of these “partners of corporate counsel” assure we continue to develop and distribute the news and information this unique and sophisticated audience relies on to meet the evolving legal and business needs of their organizations.

Agiloft

American Arbitration Association

Axiom

Barnes & Thornburg

Contract Logix

McGuireWoods LLP

Mitratech

Thomson Reuters

Strategic Partners Advisors

CobbleStone Software Epiq

Contributors

OneTrust

Kristin

Bring Your Whole Self to Work to Be A Better Leader

 Nishat Ruiter, General Counsel, TED Conferences shares her best advice to be a more effective leader.

CCBJ: Nishat, please tell us about your leadership style and who or what has influenced it.

Nishat Ruiter: My leadership style is hard to define because it depends on the solution that is needed at the time. I have a high energy level and am very passionate about my work. As a result, when issues arise, I love to collaborate and brainstorm with different parts of the organization, to surface the ideal approach. One of the things I find effective is using the resources, experience and wisdom we have. One of the most wonderful elements of being in a place like TED is you have smart, super creative people who have a lot of great ideas, skills experience, to help find the best legal answers. I start by learning what the business is trying to achieve, why they are finding barriers, and what risks may arise that could slow them down or cause issues down the line. If you only give your legal perspective without considering commercial impacts and opportunities, you’re missing the point.

I find that that being open to creative out of the box thinking particularly in the legal sense really resonates with me, but it was not always easy. I’ve matured by making mistakes and learning from them. I’ve been in corporate legal departments for more than two decades in different industries, including financial services, software companies, and the dotcom boom (and bust). Because of the varying degrees of regulation, approaches and culture, I have learned that some companies take years to find their process and will stick to it, even if they learn it is inefficient, while others will try things so quickly, they lose sight of investing in processes or operations to help things go smoothly, Ultimately it’s a mix of both patience and innovation that is important and hopefully the culture and values of the company can see it through.

I’ve also learned from managers – the good, bad and best. I’ve had managers that were engaging and helpful and others who sought control though micromanaging, and others who were aggressive, but fair. Mostly I place myself in the shoes of who works with me; and I test out whether I’m being inclusive, fair, open and care about their growth and success. If I can help them be their best and remove barriers so they can get their job done, I’m on the right track. It’s not always easy because we have so much work to do, but that is the balance that I strive for. Ultimately, I want to work in an environment that’s open and consultative and incorporates everyone’s input and creativity. When that flow happens, it supports great chemistry and makes work a lot more fun.

Creativity only happens when there’s a sense of belonging.

It doesn’t happen when you’re on deadline but worried about what your boss is going to say. That spark of a new idea to resolve an issue (even legal ones) happens when you have room to explore and allow your imagination to become a complement to your experience, and hard work. That’s one of the things that I aim for all the time.

What qualities do you look for when you’re hiring people or evaluating performance?

Number one is they should be collaborative; someone whose relationship with clients isn’t driven by us-and-them thinking. Lawyers tend to be arrogant by nature and I think one of the reasons for that is because there’s this level of “I know something that you don’t.” That may be true, but it doesn’t mean the client don’t have something that’s really important for you to understand. I try to break down the barriers of “us and them” and create a “we.”

I also look for someone who is authentic. I know that’s an overused buzzword, but that doesn’t make it any less

important. What I mean is the person has a strong sense of self as well as understanding of boundaries; someone who has respect for the ideas of others but is not shy about expressing their feelings openly and honestly. I’m not going to bring a “yes” person on the team because I need people who add to the spark of debate, whose attitude is “I’m going to say something that may not please you because I’ve seen something concerning and I care deeply about a principle.”

I once had a team member who liked to talk about the “clients” or complain about their work assignments. This is a losing approach, because their sense of entitlement is stronger than their curiosity to learn a new way of doing things. While sometimes the work can get frustrating, we are all learning to work together and need to strive to have a positive attitude. At least at a place like TED, or at startups and places where you have to be creative, particularly with respect to IP—we’re always addressing new issues, such as developing a new contract template or creating a policy for use of generative AI in a TED Talk. To do so, you need to have a positive outlook and a thirst for knowledge otherwise

the work will feel overwhelming and out of reach.

How would you describe the culture of your organization?

It sometimes feels as though we have multiple startups because, as a not-for-profit, we’re mission-driven and each group is given the independence and ability and empowerment to find their way, albeit aligned with the rest of the organization. As for Legal, we strive to advise, collaborate and respond to the business so that our clients can scale, prevent unnecessary risks and achieve their goals legally and effectively. TED has a dynamic shifting culture based on a lot of creativity, imagination, and solutionbuilding with people who want to impact the world with amazing ideas. It is an honor for me to work here and I am grateful to be their GC.

Contrast this mission-driven organization with my experience at a publicly traded software company where we were generating $4 billion in revenue annually. Every quarter, the revenue targets were key and if you didn’t hit the targets, everyone’s morale would fall because everyone is impacted. The sales lawyers’ morale almost ebbed and flowed with that of the salespeople, because when they’re excited, you’re excited; when they need to get a deal, you want to get a deal. While it may have been a lot of highs and lows, I’m relieved I’m in a mission-based culture now and not a revenue-based one, but I’m also grateful for the insights and customer savvy I gained working in for-profit businesses, which has enabled me to be better at surfacing customer-centric solutions for our organization.

What changes would you like to see within the legal profession?

Legal education is ripe for a massive change. I would like to see a change in law school curriculum across the country that would stop preparing law students solely for the bar exam. The rigor of learning jurisprudence comes at the expense of teaching about the values underpinning our laws and the true impact that lawyers could have in this country.

If you look at the ABA standards for law school

accreditation, it is somewhat based on getting students to pass the bar. It’s not about teaching future lawyers how they can make an impact on their community or understanding their role within a company. I participated in a round table at my alma mater, Delaware Law School, and imbued by the passion that drives TED Talks—for finding and surfacing new ideas, counter industry, counter everything—I asked the professors what they would add to the curriculum. They came up with beautiful, creative, impactful courses on what it means to be a lawyer and connected them to issues of social justice, community impact and ethics—beyond the standard instruction in professional responsibility. This needs to be part of every course. They created courses on mindful balance and studying patterns of legal decisions that impact community life and the practical implications of representing clients.

That exercise with the law professors was so inspiring. It made me hope that there will be changes in legal training across the board, because even with AI and several other advances, we can’t expect that the same standards that worked yesterday and in last few decades are going to work today.

Any parting thoughts?

Bringing your whole self to work helps us to be better leaders and trusted advisors. This is completely counterintuitive to the legal field; but I believe to offer the best advice, we need every part of ourselves to be more effective. Rather than thinking in silos—this is my lawyer self, my family self, my coach self— bring all aspects of who you are to the table. We are more valuable that way. Doing so unlocks more imagination, creativity and intuition which will serve us better than if you just rely on your work perspective. Okay, maybe don’t dance in the hallways; keep it discreet. But bring your whole self to work. And if you feel that the workplace, you’re in is culturally a bad fit, or one that cannot accommodate your best self, then start thinking about a plan to get to the right place. When you’re happy and fulfilled, then work can be a contributing factor to the wellness of where you’re at, and that’s the match. I’ve been lucky and honored to find that in my own experience, and that’s what I think we should all strive for. 

Front

As Transactions Wane, Turbulence Waves

Thomson Reuters has some scary news for law firms in its 2024 Report on the State of the US Legal Market. Leaning on the example of Pan Am Airways (remember them?), which went bankrupt in 1991, a year shy of its 65th anniversary, TR warns law firms that failure to heed the lessons of Pan Am could doom them to the scrap heap. “The 2024 Report highlights fundamental shifts in the legal marketplace over the past 15 years and how law firm leaders who fail to respond to those challenges and pivot quickly enough to prepare for the future may see their firms destined for the same fate as Pan Am.” Why the dire tone? A few things. There has been a fundamental shift in the market from what the report dubs the “Transactional Decade,” marked by easy-to-borrow money that pumped up firm corporate work to countercyclical and less profitable practices such as litigation, bankruptcy and employment. So even though rates have grown some 6%, firms are struggling to collect on that work as clients turn to second- and third-tier firms to control costs. Good enough, buyers are saying, will have to be good enough.

Briefly

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Required Reading

Too busy to read it all? Try these books, blogs, webcasts, websites and other info resources curated by CCBJ especially for corporate counsel and legal ops professionals.

ARTICLE: Truffle Sniffer

In this piece from Bloomberg Law, Emily R. Siegel looks at the use of AI by litigation funders to find cases to invest in. She points to Legalist’s algorithm, dubbed the “truffle sniffer,” which searches for lawsuits with certain variables such as court, judge and case type – a tool seen as essential to the alternative asset manager’s success, says Legalist CEO Eva Shang. Quanlex, a litigation funder, created software called “Case Miner” to rake through cases in Latin America and Europe and use the info to contact the most promising clients. The software actually was too successful, pulling in more leads than the team could handle according to co-founder Yago Zavalia Gahan, who is an engineer and programmer. AI is not, however, a magic money-making bullet. “No one’s got a tool where you could push a button and say, wow, this is an order of magnitude better – you still have to read the case,” says David Perla, co-COO of Burford Capital, 1 of 2 publicly traded legal finance firms. “Everything in the next few years is going to be incremental and then in 15 years, litigation is going to look totally different than it looks today.”

MAGAZINE: CLO Insights

In this piece from ACC Docket, Microsoft CLO Hossein Nowbar discusses career development and technology with Pia Biswas, Microsoft principal corporate counsel. Nowbar, who was raised in Iran, emphasizes that the CLO role ranged far beyond legal expertise to include active and inclusive listening and understanding finance and customer needs. Speaking to would-be CLOs, Nowbar stresses 4 core values: transparency, trust, curiosity and collective impact. When it comes to talent development, he stresses the importance of “psychological safety” and “constructive feedback” in teams. The best career advice he’s received is to “continuously challenge oneself and embrace discomfort.” Nowbar concludes with a ringing endorsement of networks such as ACC, which can provide an avenue to personal/ professional growth, and a call to stay open to diverse perspectives. “The session provided a wealth of knowledge for in-house counsel, illustrating the balance between legal acumen and broader business and interpersonal skill essential for today’s legal leaders.”

ARTICLE: A Turning Test for AI Chatbots

This piece, by Qiaozhu Mei, Yutong Xie, Walter Yuan and Matthew O. Jackson, is a significant attempt to “counter the widespread fear-mongering” surrounding AI. “Although some concern is appropriate,” the authors write, “the fear is misplaced. The new generative AIs are a lot nicer and more trustworthy than most people. As some say, they are more human than human.” The authors reach that conclusion via some serious work. Here is how they describe it: “We administer a Turning Test to AI chatbots,” which includes mechanisms designed to elicit characteristics such as trust, fairness, risk aversion and cooperation. This leads then to some comforting conclusions drawn from their analysis of the behavior of the chatbots they examine. “Their behaviors are often distinct from average and modal human behaviors, in which case they tend to behave on the more altruistic and cooperative end of the distribution. We estimate that they act as if they are maximizing an average of their own and partner’s payoffs.” One important note: the Turing Test was proposed by Alan Turing in a legendary article that addressed the question, “Can machines think?”

Contributors

Thanks to the law firms, technology companies, alternative legal service providers, management consultants and other supporters of corporate law departments who share their insights and expertise through the CCBJ network. Your participation is appreciated.

a Managing Director in Protiviti Legal Consulting with more than 20 years of experience as a forensic consultant. She specializes in forensic accounting investigations involving fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, whistleblower allegations, and responding to unplanned events. She has led large engagement teams to help clients respond to crisis and critical business issues globally that often include the collection, processing, and analysis of electronically stored information.

Nishat Ruiter is the General Counsel and Secretary of TED Conferences, a nonprofit organization that believes passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and, ultimately, the world. She manages strategy for legal issues across the organization, helps implement and develop trademark, privacy, and compliance policies company-wide, and addresses all corporate issues for TED Foundation.

Seth Metsch has spent his legal career with a focus on media and technology infrastructure and convergence. He is currently General Counsel at Operative, a company that offers SaaS and software solutions to automate digital and linear revenue workflows, and streamline ad operations. Seth was previously VP of legal & business affairs at A+E Networks, and Associate General Counsel at Sirius Satellite Radio.

Dr. Mukul Shastry is currently Cube Highways’s General Counsel and Whole Time Director (GC & WTD) and has more than two decades of experience. Prior to joining Cube, Dr. Shastry was with large conglomerates such as RPG Group, Adani Group, and Welspun Group. He began his career as a litigating lawyer, then became an academician and a central banker.

Dr. Shastry also spent a brief period of his career as an Assistant Professor NLU, Jodhpur, and a Legal Officer at RBI, giving him a unique and well-rounded perspective.

Bill Roppolo is the Head of Litigation and Government Enforcement for Baker McKenzie's New York and Miami offices and serves as Co-Chair of the North America Trial Team. He is also Lead Partner of the Miami office. William has successfully tried commercial and criminal cases throughout the United States, including matters involving alleged antitrust, fraud and money laundering violations.

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Melissa Cohen is

CCBJ’s Call for Nominations for the 2nd Annual 50 Women to Watch opens on Monday, February 5, 2024.

With nearly 500 nominations last year, 50 Women to Watch recognizes women who demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities, business acumen and a commitment to mentorship in their respective communities.

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Thank you to our esteemed faculty, attendees and supporters for a successful, in-person event, CCBJ’s 5th Annual Women in Business & Law, at The Tarrytown House Estate this past November. It was so nice to see all of your smiling faces once again! Join us again for our 6th Annual Women in Business & Law event in November of 2024!

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Case Study: Serving Your Legal Operations Team Effectively

SETH METSCH OPERATIVE

CCBJ: When you came to Operative, how was your legal department managing all content related to their legal work?

Seth Metsch: Content was managed in a hierarchy of Box folders and each version was saved as a new file with a version number and explanation. In addition, we had just started sharing documents in Microsoft Teams for collaboration but were still saving everything as a new version in the Box folders as they were exchanged with other parties in order to track.

What caused you to choose the Microsoft platform as your core solution?

When I joined the company in 2019, Operative had already

decided to be a Microsoft Office 365-based company and it was in use across the whole enterprise. When I started, the first change I made was instead of sending out documents by email, having lots of people comment, and then having legal aggregate the comments, we created a team (using Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365’s business communication platform), put the document in there and started using the threaded comments to enable conversations directly in the document and get feedback all at once. Because the organization was already versed in Teams and that was the way everyone was working, it was a natural fit for legal to stay within the Microsoft platform.

So how specifically does the Microsoft platform serve your legal operations team effectively?

When I was looking for a DMS [document management system] we went through a detailed RFP process and spoke

to lots of potential vendors; what I was really looking for was the economics and flexibility of a platform that met our specific use case for our business at hand. A lot of platforms were going to charge me based on storage and use, or on the number of users. Being charged based on storage and use was not really a good fit for me as a smaller company because that doesn’t encourage me to put everything in the DMS. Being charged based on the number of users also was not appealing to me. We are a SaaS provider and when we do a contract there are people from engineering, finance, delivery, etc., that all have to collaborate and comment on the contract and I didn’t want to pay for all those users. The reason that I chose the Microsoft platform was that everyone was already covered in our Office 365 subscription so there was no additional cost associated with it.

Meanwhile, Epona was a software solutions provider I found researching the web. I’m able to use Epona’s document management tools for managing workspace versions and metadata just licensed to the legal team, while allowing the rest of the company to collaborate into that in that same document. I looked at other solutions that were starting to recognize the use of Teams, but they stored the solution in their cloud and unless I licensed their cloud for the whole organization, I was going to have to copy versions back and forth to Teams or wherever I was storing them and this didn’t seem efficient . So, in a nutshell, this gives tools to my legal team and lets the whole company collaborate on legal documents the same way they’re collaborating on non-legal documents.

In that research, did you identify anyone able to help with the setup, management and support of the Microsoft 365- based collaboration tools?

I spoke with three or four companies that were building DMS’s in Office 365 and I decided on Epona because I liked the way that they’re set up, and their experience and their reference customers were really helpful to me. Epona also helped us set up SharePoint for the rest of the company.

Were there any lessons learned from this process?

Something you’d like to share with other GCs about setting up their Microsoft 365 environment?

When you’re setting up Office 365 I think it’s important to work with some vendors in a consulting capacity who have set up Office 365 for the specific use cases you have. Otherwise, you end up with something very generic and I think the internal team needs to hear more from subject matter experts. The second part is talking with people in legal or legal operations at other companies that are working in a SharePoint Office 365 environment to see what choices they may have set up. It’s a very collaborative community and people are very happy to share with you what worked well and what didn’t work well for them. So I got a lot out of that.

Also be very willing to iterate. There were things that I put in my setup to start with that I thought I really needed and then as I worked, I realized I didn’t really need them. I probably should have listened to the advice that I didn’t need them to start with. So don’t build it based on things you might want to do or are dreaming about; build it based on things that you have actual use cases for while you’re building it.

Looking towards the future, is there anything you’re looking for from Microsoft to enhance your current Microsoft 365 environment?

I’m really excited about their integrations, including their work with ChatGPT and how they’ve integrated Copilot, an artificial intelligence

Seth Metsch has spent his legal career with a focus on media and technology infrastructure and convergence. He is currently General Counsel at Operative, a company that offers SaaS and software solutions to automate digital and linear revenue workflows, and streamline ad operations. Seth was previously VP of legal & business affairs at A+E Networks, and Associate General Counsel at Sirius Satellite Radio.

assistant feature, into Microsoft 365 applications and services. In a dream scenario, I’m able to use that machine learning large language model (LLM) on my data set of signed agreements so that when drafting, I can ask it to look for a clause that does a certain thing, but does so from things that I’ve agreed to in the past, not from a random data set. I’d also like something with the business intelligence to identify deviations in my contracts or how often we have allowed a certain thing. Its ability to search for certain clauses complements the contract playbook and frees employees to focus on more creative challenges; and the business intelligence integration enables me to answer questions I probably couldn’t have answered before and make quicker decisions.

How accepting were your employees to using these collaboration tools?

With respect to legal, I was trying to create a new organization and so I got buy-in very quickly when I explained that using collaboration in Office 365 obviates the need to send out a draft to various departments, have everyone comment separately and then legal taking hours to aggregate feedback and then follow up. By putting threaded comments and questions right in the document, we have been able to have chats and dialogues in the

document, which has allowed us to move much more quickly. Also, we’re a global company with business people throughout the world and lawyers in different time zones, and it has enabled us to work asynchronously, which has really accelerated the internal review. That was also helpful in getting buy-in from within legal. In terms of the people outside the legal department, the real key was they were already starting to work in Teams and what I was doing was basically giving them a link that allowed them work on legal documents the same way were working on non-legal documents.

And you own your own data?

Yes. What’s really cool about having it in Office 365 instead of a proprietary system is the odds of us ever not having our Office 365 subscription are tiny because that’s a central place between what finance does with Excel and what we do with our other systems—we’re all over the place in there—versus a narrow system for a specific use case like legal document management. So if I were to stop working with the vendor I was working with now and decide that I want to go in a different direction, I lose access to certain tools, but everything I’ve got is still sitting there in a library in my SharePoint environment. I don’t lose access to anything. It’s still completely accessible, searchable, findable, and so from a business continuity standpoint, it gives me a lot of protection.

Are there any other points that you wanted to mention about ease of use, or any other advice you could give GCs looking to do the same thing that you’ve done?

Use your network of people as resources, learn from your past experiences, and don’t get stuck doing something a certain way. Technology is evolving so rapidly and just because you’ve been doing something for a while doesn’t mean that there’s not a better way to do it. And as you build out your team, try and hire people who have worked in different places with different experiences, and invite them to give suggestions right away to help improve what you do operationally. Take advantage of all the information that you can get from other people to improve. 

You've Been Served. Are You Ready to Respond?

MELISSA COHEN & BILL ROPPOLO PROTIVITI

CCBJ: Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Melissa Cohen: I’m a Managing Director in Protiviti’s Legal Consulting practice, based in Dallas. I’m also a Certified Public Accountant and Certified in Financial Forensics. My practice focuses on forensic accounting investigations involving fraud, whistleblower allegations, and asset misappropriation and helping corporate clients, as well as external law firms, prepare for and respond to unplanned events. Before joining Protiviti, I spent 18 years in the forensics practice of a global public accounting firm.

Bill Roppolo: I’m a Partner with Baker McKenzie. I’m in charge of our litigation group from the Miami and New York offices and serve as the lead partner in our Miami office. I’ve been with Baker McKenzie for 19 years, and prior to that was a lawyer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (formerly known as U.S. Customs Service). My practice and my team focus on high-stakes litigation, which entails everything from class action defense and antitrust work to white-collar and defense of companies that get embroiled in U.S. laws and regulatory issues. Litigation often starts before anyone knows about it, but if a company is smart, we’re able to get involved early in the process to find out what the problem is so that by the time litigation begins, we’re ready.

Can you speak about managing sensitive issues surrounding internal fraud investigations and some ways in which companies can prepare?

Cohen: The first bit of advice I would give is to not go at it alone. All too often, we hear that a company is attempting to perform an internal investigation without the support of counsel and advisors, and they encounter challenges trying to manage the investigation, in addition to conducting their regular day-to-day responsibilities. When companies become aware of or suspect potential wrongdoing, one of the first questions I ask is whether they have contacted external counsel. Next, I confirm that we are working under attorney-client privilege in order to maintain confidentiality and ensure that all data and information

sharing is on a need-to-know basis.

Roppolo: One of the things we initiate when we are hired to support an investigation or litigation is what we call a “communication protocol,” which is mapping out who our point of contact is and the method(s) by which we will be communicating. We want to make sure we have privilege. And, for any and all matters, especially highly sensitive ones such as fraud, we do not want the whole company to know. We want to be very strategic about how we work together. We will bring in our team, including consulting firms like Protiviti, to set up an investigative plan and work with the designated point of contact at the company to uncover the alleged fraud or misconduct.

What are some effective strategies and communication roadmaps for key stakeholders?

Roppolo: The primary strategy point is ensuring that every communication is privileged, which we do by setting up certain protocols within the company, as I mentioned above. For example, if the CEO and COO are talking about a litigation matter, that conversation is not privileged. We want to ensure that every conversation within the company has a privilege attached to it. To do that, the company would want to involve either in-house counsel or

outside counsel in those communications or discussions regarding the investigation. Also, we limit communications to a small group of individuals within the company to minimize risk of public exposure to privileged material. Both are items we would include in our communication protocol.

Cohen: The response team is typically cross-functional, based on the nature and scope of the investigation, and may include general counsel, outside counsel, internal audit, compliance, and IT. The first time these stakeholders come together should not be in response to an incident. The response team should already have a plan, or process map, in place for coordinating and managing the investigation. They should know their respective roles and responsibilities. In such instances, we would also coordinate with Bill and his team on how we will preserve evidence, manage e-discovery, leverage protocols already in place, and determine what needs to happen to run an effective and complete investigation.

Can you describe your respective roles and how you work collaboratively in support of a client during an investigation or litigation?

Roppolo: Collaboration is critical to the outcome of an investigation. A law firm can’t set up a plan without having its e-discovery team or consultants, like Protiviti, and the client sitting next to us at the table. It’s important when setting up

Just because a case is closed doesn't mean it is filed away in a drawer somewhere to be forgotten. You should continue looking for ways to enhance safeguards to prevent something like this from happening again. - Melissa Cohen

a plan that it’s not conducted in a vacuum. If Melissa and I set up an investigation plan and it’s deemed too disruptive for the company, then we just wasted a lot of time. The same is true if we come up with a plan with components that the company cannot implement or that contemplates the review of information or data that the company does not have. Everyone needs to work together to create a plan that works for everyone, that is strategic, and that is going to uncover as much as possible.

Cohen: In my role working with both internal and external counsel, we help support the investigation by assisting with case strategy, preserving and collecting data, conducting interviews, and performing transaction testing and analyses. We work hand in hand with our legal technologists to collect and process electronically stored information, perform analytics to cull the population, and post to a document review platform. Further, we create search terms, train and manage a document review team, and ultimately assist with productions to the other side, or potentially the government. Client stakeholders should have a litigation readiness plan, or response framework, in place to respond timely and efficiently to the matter. The plan should identify the cross functional response team, communication protocols, including potential coordination with law enforcement, document preservation and legal hold procedures, and how the company is ultimately going to remediate and monitor. As consultants, we provide an end-to-end solution where we’re coming in and helping, not only in scoping and investigating the matter, but also, making sure that proper controls are in place so something like this doesn’t happen again.

Melissa Cohen is a Managing Director in Protiviti Legal Consulting with more than 20 years of experience as a forensic consultant. She specializes in forensic accounting investigations involving fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, whistleblower allegations, and responding to unplanned events. She has led large engagement teams to help clients respond to crisis and critical business issues globally that often include the collection, processing, and analysis of electronically stored information.

How can companies minimize or proactively prepare for a potential issue?

Cohen: So much of an investigation is driven by data. The most important thing companies can do is to know where their data resides and be aware of their document retention and mobile device policies. This helps when the forensic consultants come in to collect the data, so they can efficiently obtain what’s relevant to the investigation. Performing data mapping beforehand and knowing the appropriate stakeholders from whom to extract the information, helps save time and costs. This is particularly important given the change to remote and hybrid work where much more data, of all types, is sent between parties. Having a firm grasp on where data resides and if, when, and how it will be destroyed helps in the planning stages of an investigation.

Roppolo: Melissa’s point can’t be underscored enough. It’s surprising how many times you deal with companies that have no idea how their servers work, or that they have changed over or updated their servers; and they’re just a mess. The result is the client spending more time and money to rectify the issue. When it comes to litigation and investigations—preparation is key. Companies should ensure that their key individuals, for example, the Chief Information Officer, are equipped with all the relevant information to push the investigation forward efficiently and assist in litigation. Having executives who are wellinformed and prepared to assist the company’s lawyers can make a great deal of difference in the prompt and beneficial resolution of a matter against the company.

If plaintiff’s lawyers or regulators target your competitors, that’s a good indication that you’re probably next. The most proactive companies monitor corporate litigation matters within their industry. Executives should ask themselves, “What motions are being filed?” and “What defense arguments are successful?” Being prepared to make the necessary arguments and having litigation procedures set up in advance will ensure the company is

ahead of the game to successfully resolve investigations or litigations early.

Any final thoughts or key takeaways for our audience on internal investigations?

Roppolo: The key things are to be collaborative within your organization and with outside counsel and consultants to ensure you’re ready. Don’t procrastinate or wait for a rainy day to plan. Identify the risks that can potentially impact your organization and prepare for them. At some point, you’re going to get a subpoena or a complaint requiring you to conduct an internal investigation, and the more you plan, the easier it is going to be.

Cohen: Make sure that you have the right stakeholders involved and defined roles and responsibilities so there’s transparency among the team handling the response to the investigation. The investigation doesn’t end with the final report or the settlement, but rather, what is going to happen afterward.

What are you going to do to remediate? What policies need to be updated or added? What protocols do you need to strengthen the controls in your environment? Just because a case is closed doesn’t mean it goes in a drawer somewhere to be forgotten. You should continue looking for ways to enhance safeguards, as well as implement training and controls to prevent something like this from happening again. 

Bill Roppolo is the Head of Litigation and Government Enforcement for Baker McKenzie's New York and Miami offices and serves as Co-Chair of the North America Trial Team. He is also Lead Partner of the Miami office. William has successfully tried commercial and criminal cases throughout the United States, including matters involving alleged antitrust, fraud and money laundering violations.

India as an Emerging Market of Tech Savvy Lawyers

DR. MUKUL SHASTRY CUBE HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION

ASSETS ADVISORS (P) LTD

CCBJ: Please tell us about yourself and your professional journey from litigation lawyer to now?

Dr. Shastry: I started my journey as a litigating lawyer around two decades back. I practiced before the Rajasthan High Court between 2002 to 2006 and appeared in numerous matters, such as civil writs, criminal appeals, enforcing and challenging arbitration awards, etc.

During this period, I received a Ph.D. in Trade & Competition Law. The Competition Act of 2002 was a new law and not much had been researched from an Indian perspective on that. My interest in research took me to National Law University, Jodhpur, India’s premier law school, and while I would meet the vice-chancellor and the dean of that university to discuss the Trade & Competition law, as they were experts in that field. I also received an offer from the university to join it full time as assistant professor and chief warden.

That is how my professional journey shifted from litigation to academics. I completed my Ph.D. and then yearned to work in a regulatory setting, having learned about the role of a competition regulator during my research. This led me to join the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), where I spent 6 years as a central banker.

At RBI I managed legal matters for various departments, including Foreign Exchange and Banking Supervision. During this stint, I would often interact with economists and other financially savvy people. This led to my decision to pursue an MBA so that I too could understand the nuances of finance and strategy.

I then joined IIM, Ahmedabad, India’s premier business school, to earn my MBA. I enrolled in a course called PGPX (1-year full-time) and then was placed into RPG Group.

Post-MBA, my corporate journey started. During the past decade or so I have worked in large Indian conglomerates, including RPG Group, Adani Group, Welspun Group and, at present, PE Platform Cube Highways, India’s largest toll

road operating platform.

Currently, I am its general counsel, with four department heads reporting to me: Legal; Contract, Claims & Risk Management; Insurance; and Compliance, Ethics & Investigation.

What are your thoughts on the evolving role of general counsel in the corporate sphere in India?

If I recall my journey over the past 2 decades, I will surely say that the roles of in-house and general counsel have changed tremendously. I distinctly remember around a decade ago the role of general counsel being passive, the facilitator of litigation. Now the role has evolved into more of a strategic business partner and the conscience-keeper of Corporate.

Now no major decision in any large conglomerate takes place without involving the GC, and the GC has a final say at times in matters that have regulatory or legal implications. GCs have established themselves as a key pillar of business solutions and, along with the CEOs and CFOs, they play a crucial role in the decision-making of the company.

How would you describe the infrastructure sector in India?

Well, in economics there is a concept known as the multiplier effect. The infrastructure sector in India at present boasts a multiplier effect of 3 to 6, which means every dollar spent on infrastructure in India would boost the country’s economy by 3 to 6 times. That is the importance of this sector.

If we look at the government of India’s initiatives over the past few years, you will see massive spend on infrastructure. The National Infrastructure Pipeline in India is slated to invest a whopping US $1.6 trillion over 5 years (2020-25) to build infrastructure projects and drive economic growth.

That is the massive size of investment contemplated and you can guess the kind of boost it will give to the Indian

economy. Furthermore, under the current-year annual Union B of India is budget, a whopping sum of Rs 10 lakh crore (US $120 billion) have been earmarked to spend on infrastructure.

For these reasons I am bullish about the sector, and the kind of investment the sector is attracting is extremely comforting for players in this space.

Are there potential legal challenges in this sector ahead?

The potential legal challenges in the infrastructure sector lie in how the dispute resolution process is run in the country. India was ranked 163rd out of 191 countries in “enforcement of contracts” as per the Doing Business Report of World Bank published in 2020. Similarly in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2022 (ROLI) India was ranked 77th out of 140 countries. These indicators do not bode well for India as an attractive destination for investment. Therefore, there is lots to be done on the justice delivery front to ensure that the confidence of investors increases. India’s rank should be rightfully in the top 10 in both these indexes.

In addition to poor enforcement of contracts and lackluster performance in the ROLI, policy flip-flops also do not give any confidence. The infrastructure projects are long term, running into many decades, and therefore government policy needs to remain consistent across those many years. It cannot depend on the predilections of the government in power, which creates confusion in the mind of players.

Lastly, issues having to do with land acquisition and delays on part of regulators also cause unnecessary and avoidable delays, threatening the viability of some infrastructure projects.

How are foreign investors currently impacting India’s growth story?

In the financial year 2023, the infrastructure industries in India saw a foreign direct investment equity inflow of approximately US $1.7 billion. The government scheme “National Infrastructure Pipeline,” as I said above, is

I distinctly remember around a decade ago the role of general counsel being passive, the facilitator of litigation. Now the role has evolved into more of a strategic business partner and the conscience-keeper of Corporate.

a welcome step that is attracting private and foreign investments into the infrastructure sector as well.

The biggest advantage of foreign players coming to India to invest does not only mean that there is money flowing but also the expertise of these foreign players comes in handy at times. For example, many Japanese companies are bringing great technologies along with their investment and that, combined with Indian youth and vibrance, is giving a great boost to the infrastructure regime.

Has legal tech been an asset to Indian corporations?

Indeed, it has. I have been a firm advocate that the time has come for the modern legal department to have legal tech and AI in its toolbox. A legal department that does not have legal tech support is not going to keep pace with this ultrafast world.

I believe that mundane work, such as research, formatting, basic drafting, etc., must be shifted to legal tech software and the time saved must be used for more fruitful purposes. The large corporations I have been part of, whether RPG, Adani or Welspun Group, all have had legal departments that use legal tech.

Though I feel that the introduction of legal tech into the legal departments of Indian corporate is still very minimal, it must go up. The legal tech market in India currently is valued at around US $1.13 billion. As per CIIE. Co, an IIMAhmedabad-based incubator, there are around 650 legal startups, the second highest in the world. Thus, this is an

emerging market and the entry of younger lawyers who are more tech savvy will give a boost to this industry.

I feel that the legal tech market will quadruple or quintuple in size in another 5 or 6 years. That is the potential that this market has in India.

What effect do you think AI will have on your industry?

AI will be a game changer in the legal industry worldwide. It will not be uncommon that soon you may see AIpowered robo-lawyers working in court rooms even in legal departments of large corporations, where they will perform mundane legal services.

The Indian Supreme Court is already using AI to provide live transcriptions of arguments. These are baby steps, but I believe that soon we will have AI providing decisions in many routine matters.

AI could easily be trained to find out the relevant rules and precedents and to pass judgements easily in matters other than those requiring intricate usage of discretionary powers and intuitiveness.

There is a lot of apprehension among younger lawyers as to whether AI would take over their role, leaving them jobless. I always remind them that horses were the modes of transport for thousands of years. However, in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, the motor car made horses extinct as a mode of transport. That in turn meant the entire saddle and blacksmithing industries, and other ancillary businesses, all went bankrupt. But humans learned the art of driving motor cars and, along with petrol pumps, etc., a new economy developed.

Hence, just as humans evolve with the advent of modern technologies, in an AI world human lawyers will be required to evolve into a higher being, e.g., do more strategic thinking. Mundane legal work will be done by the AI, and the strategic and intuitive part of will be managed by humans with the help of their AI juniors.

What legal department changes would you like to see implemented in large infrastructure companies?

The large infrastructure companies’ legal departments are not using legal tech and AI to its full potential, so the changes I would like to see would be:

1. Embracing legal tech and AI.

2. Mundane legal work, such as researching, drafting, formatting, etc., not being done by humans.

3. Recruitment of more tech-savvy younger lawyers who are ready to embrace the future.

4. Having non-legal professionals, such as chartered accountants, forensic experts, etc., in the legal department, allowing the department to take a more holistic approach to its function. (I currently have a few chartered accountants, a civil engineer and a forensic expert reporting to me.)

5. The GC suite must have the following departments reporting to it: Legal, Compliance, Contracts, Secretarial and Insurance. This will help the GC suite provide holistic solutions.

6. The GC must be part of the board of directors or a regular invitee to board meetings. This will help the GC understand the company’s risk-taking appetite and general approach to its business. 

Dr. Mukul Shastry is currently Cube Highways’s General Counsel and Whole Time Director (GC & WTD) and has more than two decades of experience. Prior to joining Cube, Dr. Shastry was with large conglomerates such as RPG Group, Adani Group, and Welspun Group. He began his career as a litigating lawyer, then became an academician and a central banker.

Dr. Shastry also spent a brief period of his career as an Assistant Professor NLU, Jodhpur, and a Legal Officer at RBI, giving him a unique and well-rounded perspective.

LEGAL TECH STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

CEO: Boyd Mulvey

HQ: England, UK

# of Employees: 37

Total Raised: $11.79M

Post Valuation: $13.6M

Institutional Investors:

• Cherry Ventures

• Speedinvest

• Amati Global Investors

• Charlotte Street Capital

@Chorusintel

https://chorusintel.com/us/

Description:

1.36x

Developer of investigation software designed to serve law enforcement agencies, central governments and businesses. The company's software offers anti-fraud technologies for the data industry to clean and analyze data and create insights with the data and events, enabling businesses to confidently turn data into intelligence and evidence.

Most Recent Financing Status

The company raised EUR 3.5 million of Series 1 venture funding from Cherry Ventures and Speedinvest on May 31, 2023, putting the company's pre-money valuation at EUR 9 million.