TLDR

• Forward is a revolutionary preventive healthcare membership that puts you in control of your health, with world-class doctors supported by technology.
• Lawyers at startups are responsible for making things happen - this means nonstop learning and deciding where and when to take risks
• Learn how to to show where legal should and shouldn’t be used
• Don't underestimate the importance of intellectual curiosity
• Communicate directly and with a belief in your objective

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.

Sign up for FORWARD's email newsletter at lawtrades.substack.com/subscribe

Learn more about Lawtrades: lawtrades.com

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/lawtrades-com/

Twitter: twitter.com/lawtrades

Instagram: instagram.com/lawtrades/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCR3Xgewe9cxoAxkr1bDnNRA

TLDR

• Being a General Counsel at a startup requires you to be a good generalist
• If you’re the first lawyer at a startup, you’re going to be doing everything
• Communication is key and take the time to meet with your team and the C-suite
• Learn how to clearly illustrate issues and communicate in a succinct way
• Don’t underestimate the power of ALSPs (Alternative Legal Service Providers)

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.

For full show notes and past guests, please visit: https://newsletter.lawtrades.com/p/7-stash-gc-meredith-smith-on-being 

Sign up for FORWARD's email newsletter at lawtrades.substack.com/subscribe

Learn more about Lawtrades: lawtrades.com

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/lawtrades-com/

Twitter: twitter.com/lawtrades

Instagram: instagram.com/lawtrades/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCR3Xgewe9cxoAxkr1bDnNRA

Kathy M. Zhu is Director of Commercial & Legal Ops at DoorDash.

She is also an advisor to LegalDesk, a workflow optimization platform designed to help in-house legal teams to manage requests as well as visualize workflow metrics on a beautiful dashboard. Kathy advises LegalDesk on product strategy and design based on learnings from her own experience from scaling a commercial team, managing multiple workstreams, and dealing with volume challenges.

Key Takeaways

• Creating efficiencies and working with Lawtrades to access contract attorneys have both been critical to addressing company needs post-Covid.
• Technology allows a lean team to accommodate heavy volume efficiently and effectively.
• Nothing speaks louder than data, especially to someone in finance. If you can show someone concrete metrics, you can make a business justification for a particular spend.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.

For full show notes and past guests, please visit https://lawtrades.substack.com/p/-doordash-head-of-commercial-kathy

Sign up for FORWARD's email newsletter at lawtrades.substack.com/subscribe

Learn more about Lawtrades: lawtrades.com

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/lawtrades-com/

Twitter: twitter.com/lawtrades

Instagram: instagram.com/lawtrades/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCR3Xgewe9cxoAxkr1bDnNRA

Amir Hassanabadi is the Associate General Counsel at AngelList.

Key Takeaways

• VC seems to be faring well in a post-Covid world. Although the “how” and “where” of work is changing, the fundamentals of VC investment remain intact and are functioning well in this environment.
• Later stage companies have an opportunity to use the changing nature of the post-Covid world to reevaluate their approaches and adjust accordingly so that the investments they’re making truly support their models.
• Businesses are transitioning to a more fully remote model, but this change won’t be a wholesale one. There is only so much productive work that can be done in a fully remote capacity. Both businesses and individuals will have to find the balance that best accommodates their interests.
• Participating in AngelList syndicates and venture lead syndicate opportunities offers investors the ability to either place their resources in a single, innovative venture or to spread their risk around.

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.

For show notes and past guests, please visit lawtrades.substack.com

Sign up for FORWARD's email newsletter at lawtrades.substack.com/subscribe

Learn more about Lawtrades: lawtrades.com

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/lawtrades-com/

Twitter: twitter.com/lawtrades

Instagram: instagram.com/lawtrades/

YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCR3Xgewe9cxoAxkr1bDnNRA

Key Takeaways

• Lawyers with specialization and specific knowledge will gain a competitive advance when launching their virtual practice.
• The speed of innovation within the legal industry will vary based on practice area and nature of work.
• More companies are refusing to pay a premium for routine legal work and independent lawyers are filling that need.
•  Lawyers focused on saving clients headspace and expensive overhead will succeed in this new economy.

Key Takeaways

• This crisis has put the gas pedal on providers allowing telemedicine.
• Oscar has a personalized risk assessment survey. You can access this survey even if you are not a member. If you are a candidate for testing, it will refer you to a testing site.
• The danger of a fully remote workforce is not communicating enough. Communicate more than ever when working remotely.If you think it can be useful to someone, then communicate it out.
• In the long run, COVID-19 will drastically change the healthcare system. 
• Our society is all in this together. 

Resources Mentioned

• Hank’s LinkedIn
• Oscar
• Oscar’s COVID-19 Resources

Hank Greenberg works as General Counsel at Oscar Health. 

• Over the past five years, Oscar has built a health insurance company that people actually want to talk to – one that engages members and guides them to the right care. Today, Oscar drives the highest levels of engagement in health care, helping over 250,000 individuals and businesses – from startups in Brooklyn, New York to bookkeepers in Bouldin Creek, Austin – take charge of their health.

Working at Oscar during COVID-19

• Oscar feels very lucky to have the opportunity to be helpful for their members. 
• Oscar has the most engaged members in the industry, with the highest mobile engagement of any insurer. 43% of our members’ first visits to the doctor are routed through their technology and customer service teams.
• Oscar is partnered with more than half of the top 20 health systems in the U.S.

Responding to COVID-19

• The company is lucky to already have resources set up. They accommodate work from home in a big way. Oscar has been able to maintain the continuity of their work.
• Oscar has been setting up goals and touchpoints for their team.

Resources from Oscar

• Oscar has a personalized risk assessment survey. You can access this survey even if you are not a member. If you are a candidate for testing, it will refer you to a testing site. This survey is constantly being updated.
• For members, you can call the care team to find the right provider for you.
• If you have symptoms, you can call the care team to find the right place to go. 

How Telemedicine will move forward

• COVID-19 accelerated telemedicine.
• More and more services are moving online.
• The availability for telemedicine is moving forward state by state. 
• This crisis has put the gas pedal on providers allowing telemedicine.
• Everything that can be done remotely is being done remotely now. 
• The state of preparedness for something like this will become a talking point for policy change from now on. 
• Hopefully, there will be more attention to PPE for healthcare workers.
• This will affect the way that people get healthcare. 

GCs working remotely 

• It has been difficult to move remotely. There are certain types of work that are more capable of working remotely. However, legal teams can work remotely fairly seamlessly. 
• Communicate more than ever when working remotely. It can be hard to appreciate what you are hearing or what you aren’t hearing. 
• Don’t hesitate to click send on an email or pick up the phone. If you think it can be useful to someone, then communicate it out. 
• The danger of a fully remote workforce is not communicating enough. 

How the world will look moving forward

• We have to continue the things that we are doing with social distancing. 
• The world needs to make sure that everyone is doing their part. 
• All of short term tradeoff's will be worth it if we can reduce the amount of loss of life. 
• Hopefully, in a few months, we will all be back in our offices. 

Detailed show notes: Forward GC

Courtesy of Lawtrades.

This episode covers topics such as: 

• Tips for first time GC's
• What to consider when going in-house
• How to solve complex legal challenges
•  What to expect when going in-house

We hope you enjoy it! Please be sure to visit LawTrades.substack.com to get access to more episodes and more content tailored attorneys working with in tech.