Shaun Sethna

My team of 3 lawyers is responsible for 50,000 US contracts per year. This might seem impossible, but with the right systems and tools it can be done, and that number can be much higher with the same sized team. During my entire in-house legal career, the ongoing challenge has been to do more with less. Building scalable systems, automating processes, and creating tools to empower my teams have become my specialities. AI tools present new opportunities to do more with less, but to be successful you need to be just as aware of the limitations of these tools as their capabilities. After the success we’ve had in the US, this year we’ve launched new systems across our global markets, improving data tracking, contract management compliance, and speed to deal closure exponentially. The time made available from automating daily work is then reinvested into understanding our business better, spending more time with business leadership on understanding their priorities, and focusing on achieving the next level of success. #AI #legaloperations #contractmanagement #legal #tech #legaltech #automation #scalability #global #contracts #inhouselegal

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As we kick off the year, I’m speaking to many in-house leaders in the legal industry about hiring plans for 2025 and inevitably discussing the key trends shaping the legal hiring market. While late 2024 was marked by more economic uncertainty, there are clear opportunities emerging for businesses and candidates alike in 2025. Key trends from 2024 that I think will evolve in 2025: ✳️ Mid-level commercial lawyers were in demand and competition for this talent remained strong. Salaries are already very competitive at this level and may be an area that sees another increase this year. Clients with lower budgets could consider part time options or more junior lawyers. ✳️General Counsel and CLO positions were more limited in 2024 with businesses unable to commit to these hires due to the economic climate and lack of M&A activity. Demand for senior legal leaders will hopefully begin to rise compared to the previous 18 months, with businesses focusing on hires that can drive strategic value and lead lean teams effectively. A more stable geopolitical and economic environment will help but who knows what will unfold, I'm certainly not going to try to predict on that front! ✳️Many companies moved away from fully remote setups, adopting 2–3 days per week in-office policies and some outlined a desire to return to 5 days which will be interesting to see play out in 2025. Debate around hybrid working will continue, with companies that strike a balance between flexibility and in-office collaboration better positioned to attract and retain a diverse talent pool. ✳️Specialist skill sets such as regulatory, compliance and data privacy expertise remained highly sought after and will likely continue to be with the evolving regulatory backdrop and increased compliance requirements. ✳️ Interim hiring at all levels proved a popular solution for our clients across all in-house industries. This market will continue to grow in 2025 as legal teams manage costs and workloads as effectively as possible. Looking ahead into 2025 there will continue to be a cautious approach to hiring early on in Q1 but as we (hopefully!) see the predicted increase in M&A activity and PE backing come through more opportunities will emerge at all levels which will increase competition when hiring. General Counsels focused on delivering engaging interview processes, inclusive leadership and creative career opportunities for their teams will be well placed to both attract and retain the best talent. Follow me for more insights into the in-house legal landscape in 2025 📈 #Legal #GeneralCounsel #Careers

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🔥 Most companies don't call their General Counsel early enough. They wait for the fire drill — when the deal stalls, the clause backfires, or the regulator knocks. By then, it's not strategy. It's damage control. So here's a list of 7 hard-won truths I've learned as a GC — truths that don't show up in textbooks or templates but hit you when it’s too late. 💡 Think of this as a behind-the-scenes peek into what your GC wishes you already knew before the crisis. ➡️ Swipe through if you're a founder, executive, or legal leader navigating complexity at speed. ⚖️ Bookmark it if you believe legal should be proactive, not reactive. Curious — what’s the one legal lesson you learned the hard way? 👇 Let’s hear it in the comments. #GeneralCounsel #LegalLeadership #ScaleWithLaw #Contracts #Disputes #RiskManagement #StartupLaw #Web3Compliance

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Lessons from working in legal tech: 1.  In-house legal teams spend significant time on manual administrative tasks, detracting from larger business goals. Your AI contract review tool is worthless if legal at company dot com is still getting Word docs forwarded by procurement. 2.  Too many law departments don't actually track savings from technology. You can't prove ROI with "it feels faster" when the CFO asks for budget justification. 3.  Most in-house lawyers feel their departments lack resources, yet many say their tech budgets are staying flat or shrinking. The math doesn't work without thoughtful workflow automation. 4.  Self-service capabilities beat faster review times. When other functions answer routine contract questions without emailing legal, everyone wins. 5.  Cost efficiency metrics are more often tracked exclusively, while qualitative metrics like matter outcomes are tracked by far fewer departments. You're measuring the wrong things. 6.  Easy integrations matter as much as features. Legal departments and the business as a whole doesn't want another login. What they want is contract data flowing directly into other solutions without manual data entry. #legaltech #innovation #law #business #learning

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