Sharon Johnson took a winding path to the GC seat. Before law school, she worked in marketing, sales, project management, and contract management at Verizon, and she credits that experience with shaping how she leads legal today. As Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer at MODE Global, she runs a team of six lawyers across a $3 billion logistics business, with 100% AI adoption and KPIs to prove it. Her team was a finalist for Best Use of AI at the 2026 Legalweek Leaders in Tech Awards, alongside Meta, Uber, and DHL.

In this episode, Sharon walks through her ”Yes If” framework for keeping the business moving forward instead of defaulting to no, how she cold-called the GC of Verizon (who happened to be Bill Barr) while still in law school, and the full-circle story of returning as general counsel to the company that once turned her down for a contract manager role. She and Cecilia also get into what AI adoption looks like on a lean legal team, why judgment matters more than speed, and the career advice she wishes she'd heard earlier: having a lot of ideas can be as dangerous as having none.

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@Sharon Johnson on LinkedIn

Show notes:

AI adoption that works: Sharon tracks KPIs, saves the equivalent of two headcounts per week using AI, and has achieved 100% adoption across her legal team.

Working in the business before law school: Sharon's time in contract management, sales, and project management at Verizon gave her a commercial fluency that law school alone cannot teach. Her advice for aspiring GCs: go work in the business first.

Cold calling as a career strategy: Sharon cold-called the General Counsel of Verizon while in law school, got career-defining advice, and later became GC of the company that once turned her down for a contract management role.

Judgment in the age of AI: Why Sharon believes judgment becomes more valuable as AI handles more of the work, and what she looks for when hiring now.

Tariffs, logistics, and regulatory monitoring: How Sharon uses AI to track federal register notices, executive orders, and trade policy signals so her team can advise the business before issues require action.

Building a lean legal team: What it takes to run a $3 billion business with six lawyers, and why Sharon says there is no place to hide when you are lean.

(00:00) Introduction
(01:19) Sharon's business-first background before law school
(02:35) Contract management at Verizon and what AI changes about that role
(05:48) Why working in the business before practicing law is a career advantage
(08:11) The ”Yes If” framework for decision-making
(09:13) ”Yes If” in action: structuring a deal in Mexico
(11:34) Running a six-lawyer team across a $3B business
(14:27) Strategic work AI unlocks: compliance, risk assessments, regulatory monitoring
(17:00) 100% AI adoption and how the business has noticed
(18:41) How AI changes who you hire
(20:44) Why judgment becomes more valuable with AI, not less
(22:37) Cold calling as a career hack
(25:03) The CompuCom full-circle story
(27:03) Getting comfortable being uncomfortable
(31:36) Collaboration and the Women's General Counsel Network
(34:08) Lightning round: myths, mentors, and books
(35:31) The Bezos lesson on having too many ideas
(37:04) Closing reflection: a closed door is not a permanent door

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