The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) Board of Directors has unanimously elected CLOC Board Member Mary Shen O’Carroll to serve in the executive role of CLOC President, and has appointed Aine Lyons to the Board of Directors. O’Carroll and Lyons will assume their positions immediately.
CLOC has seen explosive growth over the last three years, increasing its membership from 40 to 2,000 members. CLOC is expanding its board to ensure representation of its worldwide members and to drive its strategic priorities.
Mary Shen O’Carroll is Director of Legal Operations, Technology and Strategy at Google, where she is responsible for overseeing key aspects of financial performance management, outside counsel management and internal operations (IT, knowledge management, training and development, etc.). O’Carroll is one of the original leaders of CLOC and is a passionate leader in driving disruptive technology and processes designed to change the future of the legal industry.
“I am honored and humbled to take on the role of President for CLOC,” said Mary O’Carroll. “The opportunities are immense for legal operations professionals and we are dedicated to the task of taking CLOC and the legal operations profession to the next level in reforming and shaping our industry.”
Aine Lyons, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, WW Legal Operations at VMware, Inc., a seasoned legal operations veteran, had a driving role in establishing and leading CLOC’s EMEA regional group, as well as the London Institute. Lyons brings not only her stellar expertise in the field, but also invaluable insight into the priorities of CLOC’s members in both the European and in other regions across CLOC’s global community.
Lyons’ efforts at VMware, Inc. have resulted in departmental industry recognition, including as winners of the 2018 Financial Times Intelligent Business - Contracting award, as the 2016 Financial Times “Most Innovative In-House Legal Team,” and as the 2015 ACC Value Champion. At VMware, Lyons serves on the global VMinclusion Council, setting diversity and inclusion strategy for VMware, and in 2014, she earned the CEO’s EPIC2 Achievement Award.
“I am honoured to serve on the CLOC Board of Directors and to partner with this hard-working, energetic and driven team,” said Aine Lyons. “Now, more than ever, the legal operations role is a vital component of the modern legal department and is a critical partner to the general counsel. We all have an opportunity, and an obligation, to demonstrate the value that in-house legal teams bring to the bottom line and to transform and grow the businesses that we serve. I believe that CLOC has a strategic role to play in driving increased diversity and innovation across the legal industry, and that its members are integral to that cultural shift.”
The CLOC Board is also actively engaged in evaluating additional board members and expects to make further announcements over the coming months. In 2019, CLOC will continue its established educational Institutes in London, Las Vegas and Sydney.
Demand has never been greater for cutting-edge legal operations content, best practices, and education. Promoting knowledge sharing across the CLOC community will be a key area of investment for the CLOC Board.
One of CLOC’s core tenets is bringing together the entire legal ecosystem in order to achieve real, systemic change. CLOC’s Board intends to accelerate its inclusive and collaborative charter over the coming years and to continue in its role as a business enabler and change agent. The strength of partnership and collaboration between CLOC members, GC’s, in-house legal teams, law firms, vendors, law schools and all other members of the legal ecosystem will be critical in shaping the future of the industry.