Strategic workplace education benefits provider InStride is on a mission to transform enterprises through education. Its legal and HR departments are helmed by Chief Legal and People Officer Stephen Chu, an innovative leader who’s bridging HR and legal functions to drive business impact.
He joined Ironclad Senior Counsel Laura Garcia to chat about his transition from big law into in-house counsel, what it takes to juggle running two distinct departments, how he and his team helped InStride implement Ironclad Clickwrap to facilitate a $19 million deal, and what he’s learned along the way.
Key Takeaways
-
Know your stuff. To be a forward-thinking leader of any kind, you must not only know how your product works inside and out, but also familiarize yourself with emerging industry and technology trends. In today’s day and age, knowing how not to get sued is table stakes. Go further; subscribe to newsletters, set up bellwether industry alerts, and stay on top of the latest in legal tech.
-
Build meaningful relationships. Making connections with internal and external colleagues and investing in their maintenance throughout your career will get you further than shiny new tech will. After all, people make the world go round.
-
Mitigate risk and add value. Beyond playing legal defense for your organization–which should be a given–look for places you can add value to the business’s bottom line. Are there opportunities for legal to make an impact outside its function specifically to save resources? Find them.
Interested in seeing how Ironclad Clickwrap can speed up contracts for your business? Talk to one of our digital contracting specialists and get a custom demo.
Ironclad is not a law firm, and this post does not constitute or contain legal advice. To evaluate the accuracy, sufficiency, or reliability of the ideas and guidance reflected here, or the applicability of these materials to your business, you should consult with a licensed attorney. Use of and access to any of the resources contained within Ironclad’s site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the user and Ironclad.
