The Abstract
by SpotDraft
Latest episode
Ep 115: From Career Break to CLO: How Shanti Ariker Rebuilt Her…
Ep 115: From Career Break to CLO: How Shanti Ariker Rebuilt Her…
About this podcast
Savvy and strong legal leadership is only becoming more critical in a complex world.
On The Abstract, we'll be interviewing leading legal executives about how they’ve nurtured their careers, grown in their roles, and become true operators within their businesses. At some points, we’ll deal with the pressure of leadership.
We care deeply about helping in-house counsel grow alongside each other. Join us for insightful and interesting conversations with legal leaders.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 116 episodes
- Ep 115: From Career Break to CLO: How Shanti Ariker Rebuilt Her Legal Career · 58 min · Season 8 Episode 115In this episode of The Abstract, host Tyler Finn speaks with Shanti Ariker, Chief Legal Officer at JFrog, about her unconventional journey from taking a six-year career break to…
- Ep 114: Building Outside the Box: Monica Zent on Legal Ops, AI, and Bold Bets · 42 min · Season 8 Episode 114Want more contracting insight to see how your team compares? SpotDraft recently launched their 2025 Contracting Efficiency Report! Download the report: https://hubs.la/Q03DNYkH0…
- Ep 113: Tackling Change: Emmanuel Smith's Journey Beyond Football · 50 min · Season 8 Episode 113In this episode of The Abstract, Tyler Finn sits down with Emmanuel Smith, former NFL linebacker, Super Bowl champion, substitute teacher, and now legal tech professional…
- Ep 112: Risk, Reward, and Reinvention: Viraj Joshi on Law, Policy, and Startups · 52 min · Season 8 Episode 112Want more contracting insight to see how your team compares? SpotDraft recently launched their 2025 Contracting Efficiency Report! Download the report: https://hubs.la/Q03DNYkH0…
- Ep 111: Lessons from Ola's Former GC: Leadership, Risk, and Reinvention · 56 min · Season 8 Episode 111Want more contracting insight to see how your team compares? SpotDraft recently launched their 2025 Contracting Efficiency Report! Download the report: https://hubs.la/Q03DNYkH0…
- Ep 110: From Product Counsel to Privacy Leader: Tina Hwang's Journey · 60 min · Season 7 Episode 110In this episode of The Abstract, Tyler Finn is joined by Tina Hwang, Head of Legal at ClassDojo, whose career spans Google, WhatsApp, Ancestry, and Twitter. She built a career by…
- Ep 109: Books That Stay With You: Legal Leaders Share Their Shelf · 28 min · Season 7 Episode 109What's on the bookshelf of today's top legal leaders? In this special bonus episode, host Tyler Finn asks general counsels, founders, and legal innovators one simple question…
- Ep 108: Reimagining Law Firm Pricing: Ken Callander on Value, AI & In-House Strategy · 1 h 7 min · Season 7 Episode 108What happens when a former law firm CMO and Uber's head of legal ops pulls back the curtain on the business of law? In this episode, Tyler Finn sits down with Ken Callander…
- Ep 107: From Big Law to GC Before 35: Andrew Epstein's Journey on Navigating Modern Legal Careers · 57 min · Season 7 Episode 107In this episode of The Abstract, host Tyler Finn sits down with Andrew Epstein, General Counsel of Demandbase, for a candid conversation on building a legal career rooted in…
- Ep 106: Scaling Legal at Speed – Lessons from Carta, Cockroach Labs, and More · 20 min · Season 7 Episode 106What does it take to scale a legal team in high-growth environments? In this special bonus episode of The Abstract, we feature insights from five legal leaders who have each…
- Ep 105: Punishing the Victim: What's Broken in Cybersecurity Law · 49 min · Season 7 Episode 105What if the legal system punishes the victim instead of the attacker? That question drives Andy Lunsford, founder and CEO of BreachRx, to rethink how companies prepare for and…
- Ep 104: Jack of All Trades, Master of Risk: How Joon Park Navigates Modern Legal Work · 38 min · Season 7 Episode 104In this episode of The Abstract, host Tyler Finn is joined by Joon Park, Chief Legal Officer at Extend Enterprises, Inc., for a candid conversation about building a legal career…
- Ep 103: Building What Doesn't Exist Yet: Inside the Legal Career of Tommie Tavares-Ferreira · 52 min · Season 7 Episode 103In this special episode of The Abstract, host Tyler Finn speaks with Tommie Tavares-Ferreira, newly appointed Chief Strategy Officer at Lawtrades and longtime legal ops leader…
- Ep 102: What Comes After Legal Ops? A Conversation with David Cowen · 53 min · Season 7 Episode 102In this special live-recorded episode of The Abstract from CLOC in Las Vegas, host Tyler Finn sits down with David Cowen, founder of The Cowen Group and creator of the SOLID…
- Ep 101: How Legal Ops Became the Center of Strategy with Adam Becker, Cockroach Labs · 38 min · Season 7 Episode 101What does it mean to lead legal operations when there's no clear blueprint? In this episode of The Abstract, host Tyler Finn sits down with Adam Becker, Director of Legal…
- Ep 100: Community as Strategy: Your Guide to Growth with Tyler Finn · 1 h 13 min · Season 7 Episode 100In the 100th episode of The Abstract, the mic flips as SpotDraft's Chief of Staff, Nakta Alaghebandan, interviews our podcast's usual host and creator, Tyler Finn. From his…
- Ep 99: Resilience, Wellness, and the Law: Keita de Souza on Building a Sustainable Legal Career · 51 min · Season 7 Episode 99Download the AI Impact Report now: https://www.spotdraft.com/ai-impact-report-2025 What does it take to thrive in law without losing yourself in the process? In this episode of…
- Ep 98: Breaking the Silence: Legal Leaders Talk Mental Health · 24 min · Season 7 Episode 98May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we've pulled together some of the most vital stories from some of the star legal and business experts we've featured on The Abstract…
- Ep 97: From First Legal Hire to EMEA GC with Volker Weisshaar, Sonos · 54 min · Season 7 Episode 97What's it like to be the first European legal hire for a fast-growing tech company? How do you build out a European legal team? And where is the European tech sector headed?…
- Ep 96: Scaling Teams from 80 to 800 with Jordan Hatcher, Co-Founder, CLO, and COO of The Grid · 58 min · Season 7 Episode 96How do you make the move from building a legal career in the US to one in Europe, scale one of Europe's hottest unicorns, and transition to launching your own start-up? Join…
