In the event you’re in-house, overwhelmed, and questioning if there’s a better option to help the enterprise with out burning out, find time for Tanisha Minev.
In a latest episode of Notes to My (Legal) Self, Tanisha — in-house authorized counsel and co-author of “Authorized Operations within the Age of AI and Knowledge” — provides one of the grounded, actionable views on authorized operations you’ll hear this yr. Her recommendation is rooted in lived expertise, not concept, and it’s particularly well timed for groups navigating quick development, excessive expectations, and growing stress to do extra with much less.
Watch the total interview right here:
Authorized Ops Isn’t A Product. It’s A Mindset.
Tanisha’s entry into authorized ops wasn’t deliberate. Early in her profession, she saved working into the identical inefficiencies, particularly round routine contracts like NDAs and MSAs. With out ready for brand spanking new headcount or know-how, she began simplifying and standardizing what she may.
At Yoco, authorized requests have been flying in by e-mail, Slack, and hallway conversations. Her answer? A light-weight consumption system utilizing instruments the enterprise already used. No costly platform. No consultants. Simply readability and intentional course of design.
This theme runs all through her method: repair what’s damaged earlier than scaling. Authorized operations isn’t about shopping for tech — it’s about fixing actual issues, sustainably.
Contracts Would possibly Be Slowing You Down, Extra Than You Suppose
One in all Tanisha’s sharpest insights: your contracts could also be the costliest a part of your gross sales cycle — and never due to exterior counsel payments.
She factors to the hidden value of inefficient contract workflows. When groups re-review the identical NDAs or DPAs with out clear fallback positions or templated steering, it results in bottlenecks, resolution fatigue, and gross sales delays. The answer isn’t simply automation — it’s standardization and visibility.
Tanisha warns towards leaping into CLM or workflow automation too early. With no strong baseline — information about deal sorts, turnaround occasions, and friction factors — you danger optimizing noise as a substitute of fixing the actual points.
You Don’t Want A CLM. You Want Readability.
The drive to “repair” contracts typically leads groups to put money into software program earlier than they’ve outlined the issue. Tanisha advocates for a distinct method: begin by monitoring what issues most. What sorts of contracts are coming in? What’s slowing down assessment? What’s negotiable — and what isn’t?
By constructing this inside map, groups can determine the place to standardize, when to escalate, and the best way to help the enterprise with fewer bottlenecks.
Readability Builds Belief
Tanisha doesn’t simply speak about effectivity; she ties it on to belief. When authorized is overwhelmed, it’s arduous to be proactive. However when the staff operates with readability — about consumption, about playbooks, about fallback phrases — it builds confidence throughout the enterprise.
This doesn’t require a metamorphosis. Typically, it begins with small modifications: clarifying an NDA playbook, publishing customary phrases, or making a contract template self-service. These steps compound over time, permitting authorized to concentrate on higher-impact work.
Begin Small, Enhance One thing
Tanisha closes the episode with a easy problem: “Decide one factor and make it higher.”
Whether or not it’s consumption, contracts, or collaboration with Gross sales, the trail to a better authorized operate isn’t essentially extra tech — it’s extra intention.
Her insights are a precious reminder: authorized operations isn’t about instruments. It’s about belief, readability, and steady enchancment.
Olga V. Mack is the CEO of TermScout, an AI-powered contract certification platform that accelerates income and eliminates friction by certifying contracts as truthful, balanced, and market-ready. A Fellow at CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and the Generative AI Editor at regulation.MIT, she is a visionary govt reshaping how we regulation—how authorized techniques are constructed, skilled, and trusted. Olga teaches at Berkeley Law, lectures extensively, and advises corporations of all sizes, in addition to boards and establishments. An award-winning normal counsel turned builder, she additionally leads early-stage ventures together with Virtual Gabby (Better Parenting Plan), Product Law Hub, ESI Flow, and Notes to My (Legal) Self, every rethinking the follow and enterprise of regulation by know-how, information, and human-centered design. She has authored The Rise of Product Lawyers, Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data, Blockchain Value, and Get on Board, with Visible IQ for Attorneys (ABA) forthcoming. Her work reimagines folks’s relationship with regulation—making it extra accessible, inclusive, data-driven, and aligned with how the world really works. Observe her on LinkedIn and X @olgavmack.
