Spotlights: From private practice to a disruptor of change

Carly Duvall le Riche, General Counsel at Cariloop, is redefining the traditional legal career, through her continuous ambition to challenge the status quo and show the true value of the legal department.

From her early learnings of setting up disruptive legal initiatives, to her advice on how legal teams can gain wider influence in their organization, Carly’s guidance is invaluable for any legal professional looking to be a disruptor of change.
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Carly’s career journey and the early experiences of disruption

Carly began her legal career in private practice, working in litigation before moving to Spencer Fane LLP, where she advised tech companies, particularly ones who were disrupting their industry.

Carly’s turning point came in 2014, when she had the chance to represent Lyft, just before the business became a household name. Ride-hailing businesses like Lyft, were just emerging at the time, making it a crucial moment for Carly to be part of the disruptive opportunity. This was the start of Carly’s mission to work with companies that were pushing boundaries and challenging conventions.

“I had the opportunity to work with Lyft as they launched across the US and that was the first time I started to think as a lawyer.”

After 10 years in private practice, Carly was offered an in-house position to establish the organization’s first legal department.  Although a role that came with many challenges, Carly gained valuable experience in building an influential, forward-thinking department.

After four years in the role, Carly was ready for her next challenge.

“I was ready to lead a department and to be a General Counsel. I knew that this would push me intellectually and strengthen me professionally”.

This led Carly to her current position as General Counsel at Cariloop – a multi-lingual, tech-enabled caregiver support platform. At Cariloop, Carly is immersed in the tech environment she enjoys, while also being able to apply her expertise in driving disruptive change from her previous roles.
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Carly’s early experiences of disruption

“Disrupting in the legal sense is anything that takes you outside of that traditional big law, full service, billable hour model.“

One of the early examples of disruption in Carly’s career was during her time at Spencer Fane LLP, where Carly co-founded the Startup Lab, a game-changing initiative that flipped the traditional law firm model on its head. The Startup Lab offered early-stage companies top-tier legal services at a flat fee, a concept which was unheard of in the industry at the time.

“The idea is that you're supporting these companies at a rate when they're at a really vulnerable stage, but you’re advising them to get to a place where they can grow.”

This model wasn’t just innovative, Carly knew it was disruptive. It was designed to help companies that were creating new industries and changing the game. Carly’s work with such startups made her also think like a disruptor, someone who wasn’t afraid to challenge long-standing, traditional practices, all to create a better and more efficient solution.
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How disruption shapes the in-house legal role

As well as introducing the concept of disruption to Carly, the Startup Lab also introduced Carly to a forward-thinking understanding of how legal fits into modern business.

When advising startups, Carly often saw businesses make the critical mistake of waiting too long to establish an in-house legal team.

“The same mistake I’ve seen over and over again, is that they bring in legal too late.”

Carly believes many businesses fail to recognize the value of legal from the start. As the industry can be traditional and often slow, businesses often overlook the strategic importance of a legal department. This is why disruptors like Carly are needed to challenge the status quo and highlight the true value of legal teams.
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How to challenge the legal status quo

Carly advises legal professionals to go beyond their comfort zone and to not stick to one area.

“Think more about developing your practice as a generalist. Learn a lot about a lot of different things as opposed to going really deep into one narrow topic or field of study.”

Learn about areas such as PR communications, operations and the roles that are filled by the business executives. Change will be difficult by yourself, therefore find your influencers within leadership roles who will buy into your ideas and see the value of doing things differently.
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How technology can aid, but never replace, lawyers

Secondly, Carly advises lawyers to become comfortable with technology and AI.

Carly uses AI every day for the tasks that require a formulaic, direct answer – for example contractual work which can be quicker and smarter with the right tech.

However, technology cannot aid all legal tasks. Carly believes that a lawyer’s best strengths are complex decision making, solving problems, leading and providing the emotional aspect when making business decisions.

“If we could find a way that I did that for every moment of my job, I would be giving the most I possibly could back to the company that I work for.”

Carly’s advice for legal teams ready to disrupt change

1. Be a generalist – I would say, learn every part of your business, don’t focus too much on one specific type of role or certain tasks, be involved in all aspects of your business and you will be perfectly equipped for future roles.
2. Embrace technology – I use AI every day, it is not here to take my job. Let technology and AI reduce your manual, mundane tasks and then showcase your true skills of strategy, decision making and emotional business input.
3. Challenge the status quo – See the value in doing things differently and you're going to have a ton of success.
4. Build relationships – Show legal’s strength outside of the legal team by working with all departments, build relationships with key influencers and surround yourself with people who are committed to developing new ideas.
   

Embracing innovation and becoming a legal disruptor

Carly’s journey has been one of constant innovation, from her work with startups, to establishing a legal function, to her leadership at Cariloop.

Her story shows that embracing disruption and seeking opportunities for innovation places the role of legal in a strategic business position, one where you can influence change and show legal’s true value.

Explore even more stories, and our Legal Disruptors findings in full, via our Legal Disruptors report.