In this episode of Pearls On, Gloves Off, Mary sits down with Jacqueline Lee, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Flynn Group, to unpack what it takes to lead legal, compliance, and risk functions at scale. Flynn is the parent company behind brands like Panera, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Planet Fitness, and more, with 75,000+ employees across the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.
Jacqueline shares her journey from big law to being unexpectedly tapped for a GC role just a year into her in-house life. Along the way, she reveals what’s really changed (and what hasn’t) in that transition — especially around how legal advice must shift to be more strategic, practical, and business-aligned.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
- How to translate your legal skills for non-lawyer clients. Jacqueline stresses the importance of tailoring advice to how business leaders think and act — not how lawyers talk.
- Why “perfect information” is a myth in-house. You’ll hear how GCs must balance risk, ambiguity, and the need to move fast.
- How to lead through crisis and uncertainty. Jacqueline’s leadership during the pandemic reveals lessons in transparency, empathy, and restoring a feeling of control.
- How to demonstrate real value to the business. She explains her shift from narrative legal reports to visual dashboards, metrics tied to core business KPIs, and proactive reporting.
- The case for in-house litigation. Flynn handles much of its litigation internally; Jacqueline explains how they pick which matters to pursue internally vs. outsource — and why she still loves law.
- How to recruit, grow, and scale a legal team. We dig into her hiring philosophy, aligning on values, and the challenges of hybrid teams.
- Pricing and partnership with outside counsel. Jacqueline critiques the inefficiencies of hourly billing and shares how value-based arrangements can align incentives and build trust.
If you’re an aspirational in-house counsel or a legal leader grappling with how to prove impact, this episode is packed with insights you can start applying now.
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