EP 16: How Great Legal Teams Scale with AI, Legal Ops and Trust

In this episode of Beacon Voices, Akshay Verma (COO at SpotDraft) sits down with Shana Simmons, Chief Legal Officer at Zendesk, and Catherine Choe, Chief of Staff to the CLO, to explore what it takes to build a high-performing legal organization in the age of AI. Drawing on their experience leading legal teams at scale, Shana and Catherine discuss the unique partnership between a Chief Legal Officer and Chief of Staff, why legal teams should measure success by business impact rather than activity, and how Legal Ops creates the foundation for operational excellence. They also share practical advice on implementing legal technology, avoiding common transformation pitfalls, and adopting AI in a way that empowers people instead of simply automating work. Whether you're a General Counsel, Legal Ops professional, or in-house lawyer, this episode offers actionable insights on scaling legal teams, driving organizational change, and preparing the legal function for an AI-enabled future. Topics Introduction: 00:00 How a Chief Legal Officer and Chief of Staff Build a High-Trust Partnership: 02:07 Leading Legal Teams with Trust, Vision, and Shared Values: 05:09 Why Modern Legal Departments Must Prioritize Business Impact Over Busyness: 09:52 Creating High-Impact Legal Teams Through Mission, Performance, and Accountability: 15:57 Balancing Growth, Risk, and Stakeholder Expectations: 18:39 Building Systems That Scale Instead of Solving Every Problem Manually: 23:29 Culture vs. Mission: What Actually Drives High-Performing Legal Teams: 25:14 Unlocking Team Potential Through Purpose and Operational Excellence: 27:55 Common Mistakes in Legal Operations and Technology Implementation: 33:16 Why Legal Ops Should Focus on Business Outcomes, Not Just Software: 35:55 The Future of Legal Technology in the AI Era: 41:57 AI in Legal Departments: Tool or Game Changer?: 45:31 How Legal Teams Should Adopt AI Without Losing Focus on Business Impact: 47:15 The Skills Lawyers Need to Thrive in the Age of AI: 49:54 Connect with us: Shana Simmons -   / shana-simmons   Catherine Choe -   / meetcatherinechoe   Akshay Verma -   / akshay-verma-esq   SpotDraft -   / spotdraft   SpotDraft is a leading contract lifecycle management platform that solves your end-to-end contract management issues. Visit https://www.spotdraft.com to learn more.