General counsel and company secretary | Vend
Sabina Bickelmann
General counsel and company secretary | Vend
Deeply embed yourself in the business and don’t be “just the lawyer”. Jump into the trenches with the business and find out what each teams’ objectives and pain points are, and what keeps them awake at night, then help out wherever you can.
It is also important to speak the language of the business and be one of them. At Vend this includes being conversant in the language of stand ups, Trello boards and wikis (and wearing white sneakers!). Also, at Vend we’re all about delighting our customers, so it’s important to bring those values to the table when working with business partners.
Lots of people think of matter and contract management as well as legal ops when talking about “legal tech”, but I think any tool that lawyers can use to work more efficiently should be counted. For example, at Vend we develop guidebooks and templates which enable the business to self-serve as much as possible.
Some of the tech we use includes DocuSign power forms which significantly simplifies the creation, execution and storage of our most commonly used templates. We also use OneTrust to automate our data protection record keeping and are currently exploring contract audit and notifications tooling and technology to intake and triage new matters.
Also, as a tech company, there is an internal culture of trying out new software tools to simplify processes and create efficiencies and we are flexible in embracing the tools our internal customers use and operate in. We communicate our advice in Slack rather than relying on email, collaborate on documents in Google Docs and utilise team specific tools such as Zendesk (used by support), Confluence (used in engineering), Honey/Bamboo (used by HR) and Monday (used across Vend to manage workflows).
As a global tech company, we are stewards of a massive amount of customer and other third party data. We take data protection very seriously so when GDPR came along, we grabbed the legislation with both hands and committed to use GDPR as a high water mark for our global data protection programme.
Commentators describe GDPR as the “single most disruptive piece of legislation to global businesses in living memory” – I agree! We are now working on a project to become compliant with CCPA, which is groundbreaking new data protection legislation in California which will likely lead the way for other US states to follow.
As a global business, we instruct lawyers in multiple countries in numerous areas of speciality, sometimes at very late notice. I have a standard document which I provide to any new external counsel we instruct, which includes all relevant information about Vend including detailed information about our business, how our product works, our strategy and how me and my team like to work with external lawyers. This creates efficiencies in the process and assists with improving the quality of advice we receive. In addition, I offer external firms the opportunity to run through a product demo and complete elements of our employee “onboarding” programme. This helps build long lasting, trusted relationships.
“Un-lawyer” yourself wherever possible to make you accessible, relevant, flexible and commercial. Be proactive and take a leadership role in identifying and managing risks and opportunities in the business in order to maximise your value. Relentlessly strive to closely align legal strategy with business strategy for optimal business outcomes. Learn as much as you can about the business. At Vend, the legal team use Tableau to keep tabs on the company’s results as we aim to offer more than just a legal view. Be prepared to roll your sleeves up, work hard and enjoy the ride!
Funding can be sparse and sporadic, so startups must rigorously manage their resources, leaving no space for inefficient, costly processes. Don’t just seek to hire your way out of resource pressures. Like a startup, legal departments should seek out new technology to perform tasks better, cheaper and faster. For example, look to utilise new technology to automate intake and triage of new matters, streamline workflows and approvals, document creation, and manage signatures, audits and notifications.
Legal teams should approach problems with a startup mindset. Don’t be satisfied only with making improvements. Instead, strive to understand the source of a problem. Think strategically and ask yourself: “How would we approach this problem if there was no solution in the first place?”
Startups have workflows designed to get updates in front of the user as quickly as possible, for real feedback and iteration. Sometimes an “MVP” legal solution is all the business needs to get off the ground. If the product or service proves itself, then go back and gold plate those MVP terms and conditions, but in the first instance the legal function should mirror the business’ bias towards action.
Team members in startups are given autonomy to make decisions quickly. Empower your legal team to make fast decisions by creating frameworks to determine the level of legal input required.
Tech startups like Vend constantly ship to production in order to quickly see the effect of a change, seek feedback and further refine. Legal departments should mimic this approach where possible. If internal customers say they prefer legal templates in Google Docs over Word, convert your templates into Google Docs. If they tell you they don’t “get” the advice, find another way to convey it. Drop the legal speak, use plain language or simply jump on a Google Hangout to talk them through it.
Startups move at incredible velocity to meet customer demand. Legal departments need to keep up with the pace and stay close to the action too. Don’t find yourself deep in a trademark registration opposition for a product which the business pulled the plug on two months ago.
Startups seek to differentiate themselves in order to compete. What is it that makes your legal department unique? Find your secret sauce and capitalise on it.
