<![CDATA[Open Door with Somya Kaushik]]>Open Door is a podcast exploring the future of in-house legal leadership.

Hosted by Somya Kaushik, each episode features candid conversations with general counsel, chief legal officers, legal operations leaders, and other executives shaping the modern legal function. Together, they discuss the decisions, challenges, and opportunities that come with leading through transformation, embracing new technologies, and building legal teams equipped for what's next.

]]>checkbox.ai/podcast/open-doorRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Thu, 29 Oct 2026 00:53:55 GMTThu, 30 Jul 2026 14:56:37 GMT60Checkbox<p><b>Open Door</b> is a podcast exploring the future of in-house legal leadership.</p><p></p><p>Hosted by Somya Kaushik, each episode features candid conversations with general counsel, chief legal officers, legal operations leaders, and other executives shaping the modern legal function. Together, they discuss the decisions, challenges, and opportunities that come with leading through transformation, embracing new technologies, and building legal teams equipped for what's next.</p>episodicCheckboxmichael.ardan@checkbox.aino<![CDATA[From Hollywood to Legal AI: Legora's Mark Allen on Courage, Identity, and the Future Lawyer]]>Mark Allen’s career is one most lawyers wouldn’t dare to plan. He went from Berkeley Law to the IP group at Fenwick & West, then quit to attend USC Film School and spent five years working on TV shows in Hollywood. Netflix then brought him into its legal department as it launched Original Film, and gave him a team of engineers to build legal tech from scratch. He went on to build Zillow’s legal operations and strategy function. Today he’s at Legora, helping legal teams rethink how they work in the age of AI.

Somia and Mark talk about the darkest week of his law school career and the clarity that came out of it. They also cover why AI is an existential moment for lawyers: we’ve always been the players on the field, and now we’re being asked to coach. Mark explains his four buckets of legal work in an AI world, why the gap between how GCs and the rest of the C-suite see legal’s value matters, and why the best legal teams of 2030 will be the ones willing to reimagine their roles.

If you’ve ever felt pulled toward something different in your career, this one is for you.

]]>9c89cf36-78cc-41fa-bc77-89b27ed44105Tue, 27 Oct 2026 14:17:42 GMT<p>Mark Allen’s career is one most lawyers wouldn’t dare to plan. He went from Berkeley Law to the IP group at Fenwick &amp; West, then quit to attend USC Film School and spent five years working on TV shows in Hollywood. Netflix then brought him into its legal department as it launched Original Film, and gave him a team of engineers to build legal tech from scratch. He went on to build Zillow’s legal operations and strategy function. Today he’s at Legora, helping legal teams rethink how they work in the age of AI.</p><p>Somia and Mark talk about the darkest week of his law school career and the clarity that came out of it. They also cover why AI is an existential moment for lawyers: we’ve always been the players on the field, and now we’re being asked to coach. Mark explains his four buckets of legal work in an AI world, why the gap between how GCs and the rest of the C-suite see legal’s value matters, and why the best legal teams of 2030 will be the ones willing to reimagine their roles.</p><p>If you’ve ever felt pulled toward something different in your career, this one is for you.</p>no01:08:07From Hollywood to Legal AI: Legora's Mark Allen on Courage, Identity, and the Future Lawyerfull<![CDATA[Jasmine Singh: The Profession of Perfection]]>Jasmine Singh had a very specific picture of what a successful lawyer looks like: how one dresses, talks, persuades, leads. Then she built a career by letting most of that picture go. The General Counsel of Ironclad joins Somya to trace the pivots from BigLaw litigator to legal leader at one of legal tech’s defining companies, and what she had to unlearn along the way.

They get into: the identity lawyers inherit before they ever practice, why a profession steeped in perfection struggles to let a single ball drop, the Bhangra stage at GW that taught Somya about nerves, and the rapid-fire round that ends in rom-com recommendations.

New episodes every other week. More at checkbox.ai/podcast/open-door.

]]>91aeacdc-078f-40d6-94da-eebb432b5ba4Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:44:25 GMT<p>Jasmine Singh had a very specific picture of what a successful lawyer looks like: how one dresses, talks, persuades, leads. Then she built a career by letting most of that picture go. The General Counsel of Ironclad joins Somya to trace the pivots from BigLaw litigator to legal leader at one of legal tech’s defining companies, and what she had to unlearn along the way.</p><p>They get into: the identity lawyers inherit before they ever practice, why a profession steeped in perfection struggles to let a single ball drop, the Bhangra stage at GW that taught Somya about nerves, and the rapid-fire round that ends in rom-com recommendations.</p><p>New episodes every other week. More at checkbox.ai/podcast/open-door.</p>no00:54:31Jasmine Singh: The Profession of Perfectionfull<![CDATA[Ed Walters: The Blockbuster Model in a Netflix World]]>Ed Walters has lived several lives: White House speechwriter (he wrote the Presidential Medal of Freedom citations for Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Carson), BigLaw lawyer, startup founder, law professor, and now Vice President of Legal Innovation & Strategy at Clio.

In 1999, Ed left BigLaw to take on the legal research duopoly. Twenty-five years, a billion documents, and the largest deal in legal tech history later, that bet paid off.

In the first episode of Open Door, Somya Kaushik and Ed trace the pivots that made it all possible, and why the business of law and the practice of law can no longer be innovated apart. We get into:

• Why law still runs on a Blockbuster model in a Netflix world
• Why the billable hour is living on borrowed time
• How AI could finally reach the people the law leaves behind
• Whether a robot lawyer will ever argue in a courtroom

Fair warning: 50 minutes with Ed was nowhere near enough time, so don't be surprised if this door swings open a second time.

Open Door with Somya Kaushik is a podcast from Checkbox about the people and ideas reshaping the legal profession.

]]>17d060dd-c582-45b5-a3ef-3c23f689bb4fTue, 06 Oct 2026 05:54:48 GMT<p>Ed Walters has lived several lives: White House speechwriter (he wrote the Presidential Medal of Freedom citations for Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Carson), BigLaw lawyer, startup founder, law professor, and now Vice President of Legal Innovation &amp; Strategy at Clio.</p><p>In 1999, Ed left BigLaw to take on the legal research duopoly. Twenty-five years, a billion documents, and the largest deal in legal tech history later, that bet paid off.</p><p>In the first episode of Open Door, Somya Kaushik and Ed trace the pivots that made it all possible, and why the business of law and the practice of law can no longer be innovated apart. We get into:</p><p>• Why law still runs on a Blockbuster model in a Netflix world<br />• Why the billable hour is living on borrowed time<br />• How AI could finally reach the people the law leaves behind<br />• Whether a robot lawyer will ever argue in a courtroom</p><p>Fair warning: 50 minutes with Ed was nowhere near enough time, so don't be surprised if this door swings open a second time.</p><p>Open Door with Somya Kaushik is a podcast from Checkbox about the people and ideas reshaping the legal profession.</p>no00:58:34Ed Walters: The Blockbuster Model in a Netflix Worldfull<![CDATA[Welcome to Open Door]]>Open Door is a podcast for general counsel, chief legal officers, and legal ops leaders navigating change. Hosted by Somya Kaushik, Chief Legal Officer at Checkbox, each episode is an honest conversation about career pivots, fear, identity, and where the legal profession goes next. No scripts. No polished talking points.

]]>3a3753e2-5a25-493c-9503-d2adade813e1Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:14:16 GMT<p>Open Door is a podcast for general counsel, chief legal officers, and legal ops leaders navigating change. Hosted by Somya Kaushik, Chief Legal Officer at Checkbox, each episode is an honest conversation about career pivots, fear, identity, and where the legal profession goes next. No scripts. No polished talking points.</p>no00:01:48Welcome to Open Doorfull