HeyJaredBeacon Voices
Beacon Voices is SpotDraft’s podcast spotlighting the people shaping how legal really works today. Hosted by Akshay Verma, it features candid conversations on leadership, legal ops, and the real-world impact of AI in legal teams.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 6
- Latest publication
- Sep 10, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 9, 2026
Latest episodes
EP 18: The Future of Legal Operations: AI, Change Management & Leadership | Stephanie Palmieri (opens the original)
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In this episode of Beacon Voices, Akshay Verma (COO at SpotDraft) speaks with Stephanie Palmieri, Director of Legal Transformation at Palo Alto Networks, about what it really takes to modernize legal teams. Stephanie shares her unconventional journey from television and sales to legal operations, and explains why successful transformation starts with people and processes, not technology. The conversation explores change management, stakeholder buy-in, measuring the impact of legal tech, and how
EP 17: Stop Chasing Perfect Legal Work, Start Solving Problems (opens the original)
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What does it really take to transition from law firm perfection to real-world business impact? In this episode, Rebekah Punak shares her journey from litigation to in-house roles at fast-growing companies like Instacart and Meta Platforms, and now leading legal at Faire. She unpacks how early exposure to startup environments reshaped her mindset—from aiming for perfect legal work to making fast, practical decisions that move the business forward. The conversation explores how to build legal func
EP 16: How Great Legal Teams Scale with AI, Legal Ops and Trust (opens the original)
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In this episode of Beacon Voices, Akshay Verma (COO at SpotDraft) sits down with Shana Simmons, Chief Legal Officer at Zendesk, and Catherine Choe, Chief of Staff to the CLO, to explore what it takes to build a high-performing legal organization in the age of AI. Drawing on their experience leading legal teams at scale, Shana and Catherine discuss the unique partnership between a Chief Legal Officer and Chief of Staff, why legal teams should measure success by business impact rather than activit
EP 15: How AI Is Reshaping Legal Careers—Without Replacing Lawyers (opens the original)
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In this episode of Beacon Voices, Akshay Verma (COO at SpotDraft) sits down with Sumeet Chugani, Legal Director at SpaceXAI (ex-Cloaked) to discuss his journey from litigation and financial services to leading legal at a fast-growing startup. Sumeet shares why he left law firm life, what it takes to become a true business partner, and how his experience in banking, product counseling, and Coinbase shaped his approach to legal leadership. The conversation also explores how AI is changing legal wo
EP 14: Building High-Impact Legal Teams in the Age of AI | David Tudor (opens the original)
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In this episode of Beacon Voices, Akshay Verma (COO at SpotDraft) speaks with David Tudor, Group General Counsel at Prosus and Naspers, about what it takes to lead legal teams at scale in today's fast-moving, tech-driven environment. David reflects on his career path from private practice in South Africa to overseeing legal strategy for a global technology powerhouse. He shares candid perspectives on how legal teams can prioritize better, move beyond routine work, and align more closely with bus
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