Technology, innovation, law
‘Every individual is now an entrepreneur, whether they recognise it or not.’ So said Reid Hoffman, one of the founders of LinkedIn. In such a culture of innovation, what does the ideal legal department and in-house lawyer look like? GC caught up with Mike Callahan, LinkedIn’s GC, to discuss the risks and rewards of working at the law’s new frontiers and how to find lawyers who are up to that challenge.
GC: Some of the issues faced by a company such as yours are literally untested – how do you begin to tackle questions where there might be no (or very little) legal blueprint?
MC: In-house legal teams at companies such as LinkedIn, and the law firms working for them, will struggle with the challenges brought by pushing the boundaries with technology and innovation. One approach companies can be successful with in handling these challenges is evaluating analogous situations in the non-digital world. There are ways to approach a new issue under the existing legal regimes and use that to shape future law and policy.
