THE LAWGEEX BLOG

GC Spotlight: Lucy Bassli

Today we highlight Lucy Endel Bassli, Founder and Principal of InnoLaw Group, PLLC, and former Assistant General Counsel of Legal Operations and Contracting at Microsoft (who was responsible for enterprise-wide global clients and programs).  Now Lucy works with general counsel everyday, and is the author of the just-released book,  CLM Simplified: Efficient Contracting for Law Departments (along with serving as a strategic advisor to LawGeex).

While Lucy is a commercial transactions lawyer, she says she has embraced her “mutated operations gene” and is proud to sit at the intersection point of subject matter expertise in contract negotiations with a focus on efficiency and operations.

Get to know Lucy a little better:

Q: What do you think are the most important leadership qualities for lawyers to develop?

A: It’s important for lawyers to develop delegation skills and trust in other professionals to contribute in a meaningful way to legal work.

Q:  How can you keep a legal team focused on overall company goals? 

A: When I managed a team of 22 professionals, we had a cadence of reviewing our priorities against the priorities of the company. I felt it was critical for everyone to see how their work connected to the broader goals.

Q: What do you do to instill a culture of innovation with your team? 

A: You have to lead by example. I have always explored new/better ways of doing our work and have experimented with my own work. I like to shine a light on what we can have learned from the failure, and I try to always reward attempts, even if they don’t work out as hoped.

Q: What have you implemented with your team to reduce burnout? 

A: We always have made time for fun and casual interaction; group bubble tea runs have gone a long way towards that!

Q: What is the best career advice you would give a brand-new lawyer today? 

A: Be creative and ask why things are done a certain way any time you sense something can be done more efficiently.

Q: If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you do instead? 

A: I’d open the Barkfast Café–because brunch is not only for Sundays OR humans anymore (yes, I already have a tag line for my dog-friendly café!)

 

Sameena Kluck

Director, Brand Evangelism at LawGeex Sameena practiced law for several years before transitioning into legal tech almost 2 decades ago. Sameena focuses on telling the stories of lawyers leveraging innovative technology to practice more successfully and happily.

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