Having witnessed HashiCorp's extraordinary journey from startup through series rounds, IPO, and ultimately IBM acquisition, Kshitij (KD) Dua (Director of Legal Ops) and Priyam Bhargava (Senior Corporate Counsel) bring unique insights and perspectives on the importance of the lawyer x legal ops dynamic; legal AI adoption and what happens when traditional SaaS metrics meet an intelligence explosion.
Our conversation emerges following their super engaging "Influencing Without Authority" presentation at CLOC CGI in Las Vegas last month, born from KD's research into a Stanford management concept that became a framework for driving strategic impact without hierarchical power.
What We Cover:
Partnership Genesis: How their collaboration began with Priyam's proactive approach to improving a core revenue workflow.
The ROI Challenge: Why traditional SaaS metrics may become meaningless as AI inference costs reshape enterprise economics.
AI Integration: How curiosity trumps linear thinking, from brainstorming negotiations to governance frameworks.
Career Evolution: International journeys from banking to law firms to HashiCorp's hypergrowth environment
We’re now also on YouTube:
Three Key Takeaways:
1. Strategic Influence is the Ultimate Skill
As AI handles mundane tasks, the ability to influence without authority becomes critical. It's about building trust, creating goodwill, and establishing credibility - skills that will be essential by 2030 as teams need to think and communicate strategically across functions.
2. The ROI Challenge is Real
Traditional SaaS budgeting models break down with AI tools where inference costs fluctuate and pricing models vary wildly. Legal ops professionals need deep partnerships with internal AI experts who understand enterprise-wide AI spend across hundreds of applications, not just the 10 tools legal teams typically evaluate.
3. Curiosity Beats Waiting
The professionals thriving with AI bring humanity and curiosity to the models rather than waiting for prescribed solutions. Whether using AI for negotiation brainstorming or developing governance frameworks, the experimental mindset wins.
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