Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast

What happens when AI moves beyond individual legal tasks and starts changing how an entire legal department operates? In this episode of Meeting of the Minds – The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Monique White, Vice President and Head of Legal Operations at Link Logistics, to explore the rapid evolution of legal AI and what it means for legal teams, legal operations professionals, and business leaders.
White brings a unique perspective shaped by her career across global supply chain operations, internal audit and compliance, legal operations, and alternative legal service providers. She explains how her audit background shaped her risk-based approach to legal operations and why understanding the business end-to-end is becoming increasingly important for legal professionals.
The conversation explores AI as a potential junior-level resource for low-complexity, high-volume legal work, the shift from legal operations execution to workflow orchestration, the role of AI in contract analysis and risk identification, and the importance of closing the loop between contract insights and future workflows. White also explains why legal teams need to establish clear guardrails around AI and determine where human judgment must remain central.
For legal operations leaders, general counsel, in-house legal teams, and professionals navigating AI adoption, this conversation offers a practical look at how legal technology, workflow automation, AI governance, and business strategy are coming together.
What You'll Learn:
How AI is changing resource sourcing and why legal teams are beginning to consider AI for low-complexity, high-volume work
Why legal operations is evolving toward workflow orchestration, strategy, optimization, and innovation
How contract intelligence can become more valuable when insights are fed back into playbooks and future workflows
How AI can help legal teams identify risk, control gaps, and patterns across large volumes of contracts
Why legal teams need to define what AI should and should not be allowed to do
How centralized AI governance can prevent fragmented prompts, agents, and workflows across legal teams
Why legal operations professionals need stronger end-to-end business knowledge and cross-functional relationships
About the Guest:
Monique White is the Vice President and Head of Legal Operations at Link Logistics, with more than a decade of experience spanning legal operations, supply chain management, internal audit, and compliance. Her career began in global supply chain operations before she moved into audit and compliance, where she developed the risk-based approach that continues to shape her work in legal operations. She has also worked with alternative legal service providers and led digital transformation initiatives involving contract lifecycle management and legal department standardization.
Monique brings a cross-functional perspective to legal technology and transformation, with a focus on legal service delivery, risk management, workflow optimization, AI adoption, and the evolving role of legal operations within the broader business.
Episode Resources
Monique White on LinkedIn: Monique White
Evisort Website - Evisort
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe

The legal business model has resisted fundamental change for decades: Is now finally the time? In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Co-founder & CEO at General Legal Ryan Walker to discuss how AI-native law firms are reshaping legal practice. Together, they explore what it truly means to integrate technology at every level of legal processes.
 
What You'll Learn:
How to abandon the billable hour model and implement flat rate pricing
Why AI integration goes beyond research and affects all processes
How AI is accelerating junior attorney development
How to build competitive advantage in a saturated profession through specialization
The specter of AI agents hiring outside legal counsel
Understanding legal market valuation in the age of agentic AI
 
About the Guest:
Ryan Walker is the Co-founder & CEO at General Legal, an AI-native law firm bringing a fresh perspective to legal service delivery. His background in mathematics and machine learning ties into his unique expertise of applying AI solutions to tackle complex legal situations. Previously, he’s also led innovation at Casetext, where he championed the adoption of BERT models and semantic research engines in legal research, giving the company an undeniable edge in legal technology services. 
 
Ryan's work is redefining what's possible in legal technology and accessibility, making this conversation essential for those navigating the intersection of AI, legal innovation, and organizational transformation.
 
Episode Resources
Ryan Walker on LinkedIn: Ryan Walker
General Legal  Website
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe

Most contract problems begin with teams not knowing where their agreements are, which version is current, and what data those agreements contain. 
 
In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe speak with Shelle Elzer, Legal Operations Manager at NetApp, about the operational foundation legal teams need before AI can deliver meaningful value. 
 
What You'll Learn:
Why contract visibility is an operational insurance policy
How to move Legal Ops out of constant firefighting mode
Why new technology cannot compensate for bad contract data
How to define and enforce a minimum viable contract data set
Why AI is giving contract teams a stronger seat at the business table
 
About the Guest:
Shelle Elzer is a Legal Operations Manager at NetApp, where she focuses on contract operations, legal technology and the processes that help teams turn agreements into usable business intelligence. Her career has followed contracts across several very different industries. She began at GE working on the procurement side, later moved into healthcare with a focus on physician contracts, and eventually joined NetApp, where she now works with a contract portfolio of more than 100,000 agreements.
 
Here, Shelle has helped build repeatable contract processes that support major organizational initiatives, including entity changes, M&A activity and the company’s headquarters relocation to Cork, Ireland. 
 
Episode Resources
Shelle Elzer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelle-elzer-91ab634/ 
NetApp Website: https://www.netapp.com/ 
Workday Contract Management: Website
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe

Contracting isn’t just legal paperwork - it’s one of the most important operational systems inside any organization. In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Sofya Mikhelson, Vice President of Contract Lifecycle Management at Fairview Health Services, to explore how enterprise contracting can become more centralized, strategic, and technology-enabled.
What You'll Learn:
Why contract lifecycle management needs governance, technology, and operational ownership
How to build contracting alignment across siloed departments
Why contracts need to be designed with post-signature monitoring in mind
How CLM and ERP integrations can close the gap between contract terms and financial execution
Why AI can improve contract review without replacing human judgment
How templates, playbooks, and decision trees can speed up contracting while keeping legal involved
Why contracting professionals need to think like strategic business partners
About the Guest:
Sofya Mikhelson is Vice President of Contract Lifecycle Management at Fairview Health Services, a nonprofit health system serving communities across Minnesota. With over 25 years of contracting experience across nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and healthcare operations, Sofya brings a deeply practical view of how organizations can build contracting governance at scale. Her work focuses on centralizing contract lifecycle management, improving cross-functional collaboration, integrating CLM technology with enterprise systems, and positioning contracting as a strategic partner to the business.
Episode Resources
Sofya Mikhelson on LinkedIn: Sofya Mikhelson
Fairview Health Services Website
Workday Contract Management: Website
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe
Theme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.

In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Donovan Bell, Senior Director and Head of Global Operations for Corporate Affairs, Policy, Integrity, Trade, and Legal at Intel, to discuss how Intel’s legal operations team is navigating organizational change and AI adoption simultaneously.
What You'll Learn:
Why agentic AI requires a decision architecture before deployment
How to foster healthy skepticism in AI adoption
The four essential qualities to hire for in legal ops talent
How to balance aggressive AI adoption with human psychology
Why orchestration drives meaningful transformation
How to apply agile frameworks to legal ops innovation
Why contract lifecycle management becomes your competitive intelligence engine
About the Guest:
Donovan Bell is Senior Director and Head of Global Operations for Corporate Affairs, Policy, Integrity, Trade, and Legal at Intel, bringing over 15 years of experience in technology-driven organizational transformation. With a background spanning Microsoft, Walmart, and other Fortune 500 companies, Donovan specializes in orchestrating intelligence across legal operations, AI adoption, and people-centric change management. He also serves on the Board of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) and co-chairs the Inclusion and Social Impact Council, while also teaching as an adjunct professor and program director in project management.
Episode Resources
Donovan Bell on LinkedIn
Intel Website
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe
Theme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.

What if your contracts could become a strategic asset instead of a bottleneck? In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Anthony Tacker, Director of Procurement and Risk at FlexGen, to explore how purpose-built legal AI is transforming contract management, accelerating deal cycles, and enabling smarter risk mitigation. 
What You'll Learn:
How to reduce contract analysis time from days to hours using purpose-built AI
The key differences between generalized AI models and specialized legal AI and why it matters for risk and compliance
Proven strategies for embedding tariff protections and adapting to shifting government policies
How to structure an effective procurement-legal partnership for faster, more accurate outcomes
Methods to identify and mitigate multi-party contract risks across large contract portfolios
Why AI is enabling a shift from hourly billing to value-based pricing models in legal and procurement services
About the Guest:
Anthony Tacker is the Director of Procurement and Risk at FlexGen and an accomplished project management executive and business operations leader. With extensive experience managing complex, multi-million-dollar capital projects and service contracts, Anthony has built a reputation for driving operational excellence and delivering measurable business results.
He has successfully led global teams and negotiated high-value, multi-year contracts across North America, Aruba, the Netherlands, and Venezuela, building strong relationships with top-tier heavy industry clients. Known for turning around underperforming operations, Anthony combines strategic vision with hands-on leadership to improve performance, mitigate risk, and accelerate growth.
Episode Resources
Anthony Tacker on LinkedIn
FlexGen Website
Workday Contract Management: Website
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe
Theme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.

Legal teams are more than the firefighters of your organization. They can be the reason your business scales. In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Olivier Plummer, Program Manager for Legal Technology and Operational Excellence at Coinbase, to explore how to leverage contract intelligence and AI agents to drive real business impact.
What You'll Learn:
How to balance centralized data governance with democratized AI innovation
Why API and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration is now non-negotiable
The "Start Simple, Impact-Driven" framework for AI implementation
How to position Legal Ops as a strategic thought partner, not a delivery function
Why contract data is a multi-stakeholder goldmine 
The critical importance of finding internal champions and managing tech debt
About the Guest:
Olivier Plummer is the Program Manager for Legal Technology and Operational Excellence at Coinbase, bringing deep expertise in contract intelligence, AI agents and enterprise legal management. With a background spanning marketing technology, entertainment and four years driving legal tech evolution at Coinbase, Olivier has become a thought leader in democratizing AI across legal departments. His work at Coinbase, including scaling contract management to handle 5,000+ agreements monthly and expanding contract analytics value across sales, finance and HR, demonstrates how AI transforms legal from a cost center into a competitive advantage.
Episode Resources
Olivier Plummer on LinkedIn: Olivier Plummer
Coinbase Website
Workday Contract Management: Website
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal Marcus
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme Onwudiwe
Theme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.

Nothing is stopping your legal team from functioning like a high-performing business unit - except a lack of understanding and clarity on the real potential of AI. In this episode of Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast, hosts Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Kelly McCord, Founder and Principal Consultant at SimpliPhi Management LLC and former head of legal operations at HSBC, to explore how to leverage AI and automation to transform legal workflows.
What You'll Learn:
How to cross-train multiple LLMs simultaneously to compound results
Why legal ops professionals need baseline AI literacy, not deep technical expertise
The practical framework for embedding legal earlier in business decisions
How to build AI agents with guardrails that automate routine work while preserving human control
The skill-building path to AI competency in legal operations
How to reduce contract negotiation cycles from weeks to hours using agent-to-agent negotiations
About the Guest:
Kelly McCord is the Founder and Principal Consultant at SimpliPhi Management LLC, a legal operations consulting firm. With over 20 years of experience spanning engineering, business process consulting, financial services, and legal operations (including her role as Head of Legal Operations at HSBC), Kelly has become a pioneering voice in legal technology and AI implementation. Her work helping corporate legal teams integrate cutting-edge AI tools while maintaining quality human oversight makes her a leading voice for legal operations professionals seeking to modernize their functions and demonstrate clear value to the broader organization.
Episode Resources
Kelly McCord on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-m-mccord/
SimpliPhi Website: https://simpliphillc.com/
Workday Contract Management: https://www.workday.com/en-us/products/contract-management/overview.html
Hal Marcus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/halmarcus/
Memme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/memmeonwudiwe/
Theme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.

What if we’re chasing the wrong problem? As it turns out, it’s not so much about getting agents ready – it’s about getting ourselves ready to benefit from them. In this episode of Meeting of the Minds – The Legal AI Podcast, Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Alex Herrity, Legal Operations Leader at adidas, to explore the strategies and frameworks that unlock transformation and capability for legal teams in the long run. What You'll Learn:How to articulate what you actually want an AI agent to do before building or buying oneWhy simplifying processes before automating them is non-negotiableThe difference between what legal leaders think happens vs. what actually happens operationallyHow to use AI as an intelligence tool to audit your own legal operationsWhy CLMs aren't going away and how they’re evolving How to shift from replacing lawyers to leveling up their workAbout the GuestAlex Herrity is a Legal Operations Leader at adidas with a unique background spanning both in-house counsel and legal technology innovation. Transitioning from commercial law into legal ops around 2017, he has become a thought leader on preparing legal departments for AI adoption. Co-hosting the podcast “Law://WhatsNext” alongside Tom Rice, Alex brings practical, grounded perspectives on legal technology implementation. Episode ResourcesAlex Herrity on LinkedIn: Alex HerrityWorkday Contract Management: WebsiteHal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal MarcusMemme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme OnwudiweTheme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

How can legal leaders transition from the "Department of No" to the "Department of Growth"? In this milestone episode of Meeting of the Minds – The Legal AI Podcast, Hal Marcus and Memme Onwudiwe sit down with Workday’s Chief Legal Officer, Rich Sauer, to reflect on a year of explosive AI growth and project the trends for 2026. From his 20-year tenure at Microsoft to leading legal at Workday, Rich provides a masterclass on balancing innovation with responsibility.What You'll Learn:The Three Pillars of Modern Legal: How Workday organizes its legal team around driving growth, protecting the brand, and earning stakeholder trust.Agentic AI & The "Front Door": Why AI agents are becoming the new interface for legal departments to manage high-volume routine inquiries.The End of the Contract Silo: How moving contract data into systems like Salesforce transforms "file cabinet" documents into active business drivers.Navigating the Regulatory Patchwork: Why the EU AI Act, NIST Framework, and ISO 42001 are valuable guideposts for global AI adoption.AI and the Human-in-the-Loop: Why soft skills like trust, empathy, and persuasive communication are more valuable now than ever before.The Legal Business Model Tipping Point: Rich's take on the future of the billable hour and how AI is transforming the dynamic between in-house teams and outside counsel.About the GuestRich Sauer is the Chief Legal Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs at Workday. With a career spanning twenty years at Microsoft and previous experience at Sullivan & Cromwell, Rich is a leading voice on the intersection of technology, global policy, and corporate governance. At Workday, he oversees the responsible AI team and is a primary advocate for risk-based frameworks that unlock business innovation while protecting stakeholder trust.Episode ResourcesRich Sauer on LinkedIn: Rich SauerWorkday Official Website: Workday.comWorkday AI & Innovation: Workday AIEvisort (Part of Workday): Evisort WebsiteRegulatory Frameworks Mentioned:EU AI Act: Official InformationNIST AI Risk Management Framework: NIST.govISO/IEC 42001 (AI Management System): ISO StandardsHal Marcus on LinkedIn: Hal MarcusMemme Onwudiwe on LinkedIn: Memme OnwudiweTheme music: "Load" Copyright © 1996 by Hal Marcus.Meeting of the Minds - The Legal AI Podcast is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so