Join Shai Mehani, Co-founder and CEO of In-House Connect, as he discusses how he transformed a small meet-up for corporate counsels into a big-tent network and thriving community with more than fifty thousand members, why he made the leap from lawyer to CEO, and how his personal faith has helped him take the reins on his career.

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Key Insights

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1. Legal Ops: The Career Accelerator Nobody Sees Coming

Shai’s journey started when he realized “legal ops wasn’t just a support function—it was a launchpad.” At BigID, he discovered the role was less about process and more about people: aligning lawyers, tech, and business outcomes. “Legal ops gave me a 360° view of how the company actually runs,” he says. It’s now the same holistic thinking he brings to community building.

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2. Curiosity Is Your Competitive Advantage

Shai calls curiosity his “career unlock.” Early in his career, he would reach out to GCs and ops leaders cold on LinkedIn — just to learn. “Every big opportunity came from asking one more question.” He credits this mindset for helping him identify patterns across legal teams: what makes them effective, what slows them down, and what inspires them to collaborate.

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3. Communities Are the New MBA

When Shai and his co-founder launched In-House Connect, they weren’t building a brand — they were solving their own problem. “We wanted to meet people who understood the same challenges,” he says. What started as a few virtual meetups in 2020 has grown into one of the world’s largest in-house legal networks, with local chapters, events, and a thriving online hub. “If your company can’t teach you fast enough, your community will.”

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4. Legal Ops as a Leadership Pipeline

Shai sees legal ops as the function preparing the next generation of GCs. “You learn how to manage budget, tools, people, and risk — all the levers of leadership.” He believes legal ops leaders should embrace visibility and storytelling, not hide behind process. “If you want influence, own the narrative.”

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5. From Podcasting to Presence

Launching The In-House Connect Podcast taught Shai that content isn’t about audience size — it’s about depth. “Even if 50 people listen, those are 50 of the right people.” His approach mirrors the best legal ops practices: build trust through consistency, measure engagement by relationships, not reach.

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6. Be a Bridge, Not a Brand

Shai’s biggest lesson in community building: “Don’t make yourself the hero — make the community the hero.” The most successful ops leaders, he says, act as connectors. “We’re not just improving workflows. We’re building trust between legal, business, and tech.”

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7. Closing Insight:

“If your company can’t teach you fast enough, your community will.”

Legal ops isn’t just about better systems—it’s about building networks that help the entire profession grow. Shai’s message: stay curious, stay connected, and treat every conversation as a chance to lead.

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