Lisa Kremer Brown

Title: Managing Director of Operations & Strategy, Law and Corporate Affairs

Company: Starbucks

How did you get into legal operations? 

I am not a lawyer by training or trade. I have a business degree from the University of Washington. Most of my career prior to stepping into the legal operations realm about six years ago was actually in the technology space. I worked in support of CIO organizations instead of general counsels. I had a lot of experience in financial and project management. The opportunity to join the Starbucks legal department came up and the skillset I had acquired in my work with technology would be applicable in the legal realm. I have learned a ton since then. The background and experience was applicable, but there was a lot to learn. It was perhaps a non-traditional adventure here but given that I now manage the finances as well as the technology platform, records, and projects for the legal department, it was good training to set me up for success.

When did you join CLOC? What was your main reason for joining?

CLOC has been a lifesaver for me. I started in my current role in 2013 and was fortunate enough to get connected with someone who knew about CLOC and participated in my first meeting in the Bay area in January of 2014. At that very first meeting I felt that I had found my people. Moving into the legal space from the financial management and project management which is lets say, ‘more predictable’, I found myself at sort of a loss at how to deal with some of the ambiguities that comes with managing a legal department.

How has CLOC helped you in your professional role?

It was really reassuring for me to understand that a lot of challenges, which I was seeing in my company in my department that I was trying to support, was not unique. There were other people who were having the same issues and had solved some of the challenges that I was wrestling with. I would attribute my ability to lay out strategy, and think through highest value projects, to my interactions with members of CLOC.

What is the one thing you would say to inspire your fellow CLOC Members to become more involved in the development of the legal operations role and profession?

I really attribute my success in this role to CLOC. Being able to source and speak to people who are willing to share, who have ideas that are similar to mine, who have been through the kinds of things I’m wrestling with, I think the value of the community and willingness to be transparent is invaluable. My recommendation to anyone who’s new to the group or to the industry would be to ask questions and to reach out. There is a lot to be gained through networking and leveraging the learnings of others who have come before us.

What do you find most important about being involved in a CLOC regional group?

Our regional group started up simultaneous with the CLOC organization getting traction. While there are certain trends that hold true across industry, there is certainly value in regional groups. People from the Pacific NW have a certain way of being and interacting and there is a camaraderie that comes through. We’ve had over time a number of folks who have joined new. We have nice diversity of folks who are advanced in their legal ops journey and some are teams of one or two and just starting out. The breadth of experience and the diversity of industry contributes to the rich knowledge base that the team can bring. The conversations we have together are always really insightful and I always feel energized coming away from it.