Women's History Month: An Interview with Karen Gray

Each week during the month of March, Centerbase is featuring leaders within our organization who bring their legal expertise into tech. You'll learn more about their background, their role at Centerbase, and the stories and experiences that inspire and motivate them every day.

Karen Gray is a former litigation attorney and current GM of Small Law for Centerbase.

Tell Us Your Origin Story!

I was born and raised in Massachusetts, received my undergraduate from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and my Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University. I was always a connector and organizer of people, and I thought I wanted to go into politics. My internships and summer jobs were spent working at the Attorney General's Office, and it was very gratifying to help people and to be in an environment where I was able to figure out a plan to help them. After law school, I made the decision to go into litigation because I saw that opportunity as a platform to engage with clients and help them with challenges they were facing.??

The other component of litigation that I loved was the negotiation piece! It's very much like sales - you're selling your position to the opposing counsel, the judge, and finally selling the settlement to the client. I think I have always had an innate ability to sell and persuade.??

Explain the path that led you to Centerbase!

Around 2007 there seemed to be a technology revolution in legal. I was having more conversations with tech companies than with counsel and attorneys, because technology was beginning to influence the way we practice law. I personally had been practicing law at that point for about five years, and everything was changing: where I was taught to do legal research in books, everything was now online - validating cases, reviewing documents at scale and redacting privileged information at scale. The industry was moving fast, and I made the decision to leave litigation and join LexisNexis where I supported the law schools around the nation, helping teach online legal research, litigation, and legal technology to law students.??

I spent six years at LexisNexis before taking the Sales Director role at Appfolio. My husband and I moved our family to Santa Barbara and I ran the new customer acquisition and value added services team for almost six years. I was very happy in my role and was not in the market to shift, but when you meet someone and are inspired and excited by them, you can't help but be inspired as well! I had the opportunity to work for Paul Bridgewater at ResMan (property management software), and when the opportunity presented itself to join Centerbase, it was a natural move for me to rejoin the legal tech industry to work for a leader and private equity group whom I really admire.

How has your experience as a litigation attorney prepared you for your role as GM Small Law at Centerbase?

It's easy for me to make the direct correlation between practicing law, using legal software, and selling legal software. I can say "I've been in your shoes, I've been at your firm, I know what it's like to drive process and efficiencies."??

But when I think further, I can correlate any conversation or experience I've had to the type of experience I want to create at Centerbase and Legalfit. We've all been to Starbucks and the person on the other side of the counter is so excited to be there that you are then so excited to be there to purchase your coffee. I want to deliver that same experience to our customers. We can always find those moments with our prospective and current customers - it doesn't matter that they are purchasing legal technology or legal marketing, they want to be excited that we are excited. They want to receive a strong experience from both our products and our people as their partner!??

I believe anybody can be successful - it's all about making those meaningful connections and correlations - it just so happens that those meaningful connections are with our customers, who are practicing attorneys.??

What challenges do you see that women are facing today in the workforce, and what advice would you give them??

I've had the honor to mentor young people who are part of some of the networking groups I'm in, and I think sometimes women choose or are recommended to jobs based purely on people's perception of what their role should be. I've seen young women who were recommended for roles that I don't think would be offered to men. Perhaps the role was available and yes, she was "qualified", but did the hiring manager sit with her and talk about how this role would help her along her career journey? I think as a society we can do a better job of coaching women who are recently graduated or entering the work force for the first time on how to better identify their career ambitions. I think hiring managers can also take ownership in understanding the career goals of their team - gender aside. As leaders, we have a responsibility to lift up our team and help them grow in their career.??

It is okay to wait for the right role. It is okay to take a step back financially to take a position that ultimately will lead you toward your career goals. And it is also normal and expected to change your career goals and ambitions throughout your career. I believe that being prepared early and willing to take risks will pay you back dividends. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions surrounding your career. Be confident and stand up for yourself in your career journey, and you will be successful!?

What women leaders or trailblazers have you admired in your career or personal life, and what did it mean to you to have them pave the way and provide that example??

There are so many amazing leaders that I look up to, but the one person I think about on a daily basis is my mom and, being a mom myself it gives me chills because I hope I'm doing the same thing for my kids.??

My mom came to this country as an immigrant with two little kids (my siblings). While she had an undergraduate degree in history, she didn't know the language. She made the decision to go back to school, earn another degree, and build a different career so she could support her family. She received her MBA in a second language, and I remember as a little kid going to her class with a coloring book because she didn't have a babysitter and my dad worked.??

She grew her career and became a Vice President at a health insurance company, but she came home every night, helped me with my homework, made dinner, and was always there for us when we needed it. She was the example for me of doing it all in her career while always ensuring that she's supporting her family and her kids. She showed me that it's possible to do anything you want to do, no matter if you're a mom or a dad or anybody, you can do it!??

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