May 18, 2023

By Angela den Tex

The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (“CLOC”) wrapped up its CLOC Global Institute (“CGI”) today in Las Vegas, closing out the group’s largest-ever in-person gathering with a live version of their well-known podcast, CLOC Talk, hosted by CLOC Board member and Netflix Director of Legal Operations and Technology, Jenn McCarron.

It was a fitting finale for an event where sessions on Artificial Intelligence and other leading-edge technology were interspersed with activities focused on promoting personal connections and wellness among the legal operations professionals in attendance, many of whom are tasked with transforming their organizations’ key functions while working remotely or managing hybrid teams.

McCarron spoke to the challenges of managing through the “information chaotic” settings of modern work and encouraged CLOC members to “turn to your people, your community” for help navigating the significant changes facing the legal industry from emerging technology to economic uncertainty.

CLOC Board President Mike Haven, Head of Legal Operations and Associate General Counsel at Intel, had opened the conference with a similar message on Tuesday morning, telling the crowd at the sold-out event, attended by 2400 registrants from 25 different countries, “This is your professional village.”

Collaboration, support and knowledge-sharing are essential for professionals focused on legal innovation, Haven said. Calling generative AI “a star that will continue to rise,” Haven called upon CLOC members to be “pragmatic proponents … to help ensure the careful, sensible, ethical implementation” of this new technology. 

The interplay of technology and humanity was a recurring theme at CGI, where attendees used the event app to arrange “braindates” for one-on-one and small group conversations with other participants. The breadth of programming ranged from large-scale super sessions on key themes to topical roundtable lunches and pragmatic “solution labs” where legal ops leaders shared best practice tips and lessons learned from their own transformation initiatives.

“From ESG to AI, from new faces to old friends, CGI was such an amazing opportunity to bring the community together to share ideas, be creative and make new connections,” said CLOC Interim Executive Director Lisa Konie. “In fact, the community has grown so much that we are excited to announce our shift to a new venue, the ARIA, next year to accommodate even more attendees and opportunities.”

Press Contact: 

Angela den Tex
angela.dentex@cloc.org
914-471-3120