In-house lawyers must help their clients balance risk against reward, a responsibility Lori Ross understands quite well, having spent almost half of her legal career in-house. "No business activity is risk-free," says Lori, "and it is the in-house lawyer's job to craft solutions that will benefit the business while also remaining legally compliant."
As an OGC handling commercial and privacy issues for companies across a range of industries, Lori often draws on her in-house experience, as well as her knowledge of business operations, to assist clients in analyzing risk and charting a course forward. Lori especially enjoys the collaborative nature of this work – "I like helping clients grow their businesses, and it is incredibly rewarding to see how my legal work is contributing to a larger team effort."
Of the many companies she has advised, Lori considers her work with FanDragon Technologies, a vision- and mission-driven tech start-up, a highlight of her career. As the company's Senior VP of Legal and Business Affairs, Lori played a key role in guiding and implementing the company's business structure and strategy, developing the legal infrastructure for its operations, and providing business and legal advice. "Coming to work every day was fun and inspiring as we worked together as a team on industry-revolutionizing projects – definitely not something you get to do every day!"
In recent years, with the proliferation of privacy laws in the EU and at the state level in the U.S., Lori's privacy practice has grown considerably. "I actually fell into technology and privacy work by chance while working in London for a dynamic American woman who had started her own law firm representing U.S. companies trying to get a foothold in the European markets," explains Lori. The position offered exposure to an array of technology and related privacy issues at a time when privacy was not the hot topic it is today. Lori also earned her LLM from University College London during this time, where she studied, among other topics, technology law.
"Studying and working overseas for many years was an amazing experience, not only for the cultural immersion opportunities, but also for how it opened my eyes to the importance of being nimble and adapting quickly to diverse business styles and needs." Upon returning to the U.S., Lori has leveraged her international experience to assist SaaS and IaaS clients in navigating an array of issues in the technology space. "I love learning about new technologies and the unique challenges they present," adds Lori. "It's an an ever-evolving field with countless opportunities for me to support my clients."
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