The Circle of Worklife, It Moves Us All
Olga V. Mack
Non-Executive Director | Board Director | CEO | Digital Transformation Expert | Corporate Strategist | Governance Leader | LegalTech & Risk Innovator | 6X TEDx Speaker | Author | IBDC.D | Made in Ukraine ????
?? Welcome to Notes to My (Legal) Self, the frequently fun newsletter with a focus on helping you build the legal career of your dreams.
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Hello Friends and Colleagues,
The relationships you build early in your career may last a lifetime. This became clear to me last month when I joined LexisNexis as Vice President & CEO of Parley Pro. (See links below on the LexisNexis acquisition of Parley Pro.)?
My confidence that LexisNexis is the best home for Parley Pro’s clients, team members, and me is through the roof.?
LexisNexis is where I stepped into the first colorful role of the kaleidoscope that became my legal career. (Though my parents might say I’ve been up for a vigorous debate since toddlerhood. ??)
In law school, I worked as a LexisNexis representative, teaching other law students how to navigate the platform and perform the most effective searches.?
The role helped this introvert (it’s true!) connect with other students who had similar interests and experiences. Plus, I appreciated the opportunity to earn money for what my inner nerd delighted in doing.?
Then, I discovered just how much a job could mean to a person when my mother underwent treatment for stage 4 cancer. My parents’ time and attention—hitherto reserved mostly for me (or so I felt)—and their wallets were suddenly consumed by doctor appointments, long periods of severe illness, and crushing medical bills.?
In those days, the hours were marked with persistent anxiety about an uncertain future. My work was one of my few sources of real security.?
I could stand on my own and pay my own bills. My parents could take their concerns about me off their mountain of worries, and my mom could focus on regaining her health. My schedule still allowed time for me to help support my family while continuing my studies.?
In this way, LexisNexis gave me my first taste of true independence. Now, I’m returning home to work for the company again.??
My job title and duties are different. And together, Parley Pro and LexisNexis can now help our shared customers gain even more value in their ongoing digital transformations.?
Yet, my goal remains the same wherever I go: to empower people to use technology more effectively.?
With that, I look forward to the next chapter in my career. And I hope to continue seeing many of you on the rest of my journey!
Best,
Olga
Does your past hearken you back?
Is there an employer you worked for previously that you would like to work with again??
Or have you returned to an organization after leaving to work elsewhere??
How long ago did you work there? What benefits are drawing or drew you back to that place???
Share your story in the comments!?
The LexisNexis acquisition of Parley Pro
Parley Pro enhances LexisNexis CounselLink with real-time contract collaboration, management, and negotiation, actionable analytics, and end-to-end automation. Our existing management team will continue to run the Parley Pro business, with assistance from CounselLink and the larger LexisNexis Legal and Professional teams.
Read all about the merger in the May 9 press release announcing the LexisNexis acquisition of Parley Pro??
Read the Law.com Corporate Counsel interview with me and George Tsivin, general manager, print and digital, at LexisNexis.
Read my LinkedIn post announcing the big, big news.?
Bob Ambrogi’s LawNext article discusses more details.
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Want to add your own creative contribution to our visual language?
Unicode.org is in charge of raising emojis from babyhood and releasing them into the wild.?
Every year, you can submit new emoji ideas between April 4 and July 31.?
First, read the Guidelines for Submitting Unicode? Emoji Proposals. Recommendations include:
Now get out there and make the legal world a more beautiful place!
Notes to My (Legal) Self Corner
Perception is Reality: The Benefits of Understanding Perception. Our perception can be influenced by a variety of factors, including past experiences, biases, and moods. Read the article to discover the benefits of becoming aware of how your perception may impact your judgment.
Then watch the “Perception IS Reality” episode in which Carolyn Herzog discusses how lawyers can use perception to their advantage.
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?? You can always find up-to-date information, insights, and events on the Notes to My (Legal) Self LinkedIn page. Follow the page so you don’t miss a single beat!
? Do you know an in-house leader who would be a great guest for the Notes to my (Legal) Self LinkedIn LIVE/podcast conversation? Let me know. And yes, self-nominations are accepted and encouraged!
Now it’s your turn to share
Thanks so much for reading and subscribing to my newsletter! Now it’s time to hear from you.?
Comment below! Or send me your thoughts and questions, then join in the conversation as I discuss the issues that concern you most in future newsletters.?
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Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company pioneering online negotiation technology. Olga dedicates her career to improving the future of law through innovative solutions. She remains convinced that the legal profession will emerge stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than ever by embracing technology.?
Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security, and Blockchain Value: Transforming Business Models, Society, and Communities.?
Husband, father, SEO getting you consistent, unlimited traffic without ads ???? FreeSEObook.com, written from 18 years as SEO agency owner
2 年Help people become better people. They will, in turn, do better work. They will also live better lives. It's great to cherish people while they're still with us before the time comes when they'll be disappeared. Thanks for sharing this amazing message, Olga!??
VP, Innovation at ALM Global
2 年I love your story Olga V. Mack and also believe deeply in the empowerment and connection that can come from meaningful work. I'm actually a Boomerang-er at ALM, which gave me my very first job in journalism after college and where I received incredible training before moving on to other career adventures. After three moves and two years living internationally, I landed back at ALM, working for The Recorder in San Francisco. I knew it was a good fit but wouldn't have imagined the opportunities and stretch roles I'd be offered working with a team of inspiring journalists and amazing leaders like Molly Miller. The support of friends who are also colleagues and being challenged on a daily basis are the benefits that I draw on after a combined 16 years (!) with the same company.
EBA Adviser of the Year ?? Amazon Best-Selling Author ?? Speaker ?? Millennial Entrepreneur ?? Family Man ?? O's Fan
2 年Thx for sharing
I feel like the circle of life occurs with friends and clients on regular basis in Silicon Valley. In early 2000’s I was GC of a software startup that didn’t survive the tech crash. I actually left the valley 2008-2014 to do campaign work, volunteer overseas and teach back east. In 2015 I started building my own practice back in Silicon Valley, and was so fortunate to have strong formal and informal networks. I met Olga because I wanted to learn more about her women on boards work and asked Julie Brush to introduce me. We had great coffee meeting in SF while Olga was super busy w her startup. Later I introduced Olga to David Tollen who I had been of counsel for his firm. I just watched their collaboration on Olga’s Future of contracts series yesterday. Back to the early 2000’s client - the founders went on to start another company and asked me to help them in 2017 with this ‘GDPR stuff.’ Because of that nudge I began focusing on privacy compliance and love it! I always say I understand my career path only looking backwards.