Wendy Thurm

San Francisco

Reporter & writer. Communications consultant. Baseball guru. Travel junkie. Subscribe to my baseball newsletter: https://t.co/eHJEQ3y29C

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Articles

Emerging Budgeting Trends for GCs in 2025: Strategies for Cost-Savings & Legal Department Efficiency

Oct 25, 2024 | axiomlaw.com | Miri Miller |Wendy Thurm |Kelsey Provow

With over 20 years of in-house legal experience across various industries, I have witnessed numerous budgeting trends and gained valuable insights into how to maximize every dollar for efficiency while ensuring legal operations contribute to the overall success of businesses. As we approach 2025, for the first time in quite a while, many legal leaders report modest increases in their budgets.
Implementing Legal Operations: Balancing Budgets, Burnout, and Technology

Sep 6, 2024 | axiomlaw.com | Carolyn McNally |Catherine Kemnitz |Kelsey Provow |Wendy Thurm

In 2024’s current business climate, adaptation is a must-have skill. From navigating constant regulatory changes to adapting to rapid technological advancements and managing budgetary pressures, all while operating within an increasingly competitive legal landscape, general counsel (GCs) are making fast, critical decisions on budgeting, resourcing, and technology to effectively manage their teams.
Legal Ops at a Crossroads: Balancing Growth and Tension in Today's Legal Departments

Jul 25, 2024 | axiomlaw.com | Kelsey Provow |Wendy Thurm |Susan Jacobson

With artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a game-changing force, the legal operations landscape is evolving rapidly. However, a recent study reveals a complex picture of growth and challenges within legal ops departments. While budgets and teams are expanding, internal tensions and resistance to change are hampering progress and job satisfaction.
Modernizing Your Legal Department: Leveraging Technology, Data, and Collaboration for Optimal Performance

Jul 19, 2024 | axiomlaw.com | Kelsey Provow |Wendy Thurm |Derek Kan

Corporate legal departments face increasing pressure to deliver more value even as they grapple with budget cuts, rising costs, and talent shortages. A recent webinar, How Legal Ops and GC Teams Can Partner to Unlock Efficiency and Expand Business Value, featuring legal ops and in-house counsel leaders explored innovative approaches to address these pressing issues.
How To Navigate Data Privacy Laws in an AI-Driven World

Jul 18, 2024 | axiomlaw.com | Wendy Thurm |Kelsey Provow |Catherine Kemnitz

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are evolving at breakneck speed. Technology companies are rolling out new features and capabilities on a near-daily basis. Governmental authorities are working quickly, too, to reign in AI’s excesses. Local, state, national, and transnational governments are enacting laws and regulations to protect their citizens from all the ways AI can exacerbate bias and discrimination, undercut transparency, and undermine data privacy.
Partnering with Your GC to Do More with Less: A Legal Operations Guide

May 30, 2024 | axiomlaw.com | Kelsey Provow |Wendy Thurm |Derek Kan

Over the last five years, legal operations leaders have become all too familiar with the challenge of trying to meet expanding workloads on a shrinking budget as executive leadership increasingly tightens the company’s belt due to economic pressures. But you're not alone in this struggle—your general counsel (GC) is likely struggling to adapt to the same headwinds.
Shohei Ohtani Makes Predictable And Boring Decision, Signs With Dodgers

Dec 11, 2023 | hangingsliders.substack.com | Wendy Thurm

Unless you spent the last three days completely off the grid, you know the basic outlines of Shohei Ohtani’s decision to sign a free-agent contract with the Dodgers. On Friday, the baseball world went berserk, tracking a private jet flying from Anaheim to Toronto, with purportedly reputable baseball writers confirming on Twitter/X that, in fact, Ohtani was on his way to Toronto. One Dodgers news site reported that Ohtani had reached a deal with the Blue Jays.
Free For All Friday #25

Nov 10, 2023 | hangingsliders.substack.com | Wendy Thurm

Hello and welcome to Free For All Friday. This week, paid subscribers received two newsletters. On Monday, I wrote about how rare Fernando Tatis Jr'.’s transition from a decent shortstop to Gold Glove outfielder is. On Wednesday, I praised new Cubs manager Craig Counsell for asking for and getting the most lucrative manager contract in MLB history. ESPN’s Tim Keown reports that MLB owners are scheduled to vote next week on the A’s request to move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Bob Melvin Is A Good Hire But It Won't Make Much Difference If The Giants Don't Spend Big To Upgrade The Roster

Oct 26, 2023 | hangingsliders.substack.com | Wendy Thurm

An sparsely-attended Giants game at Oracle Park during the 2023 season. Photo by Wendy ThurmThe Giants introduced Bob Melvin as their new manager on Wednesday. But that wasn’t the biggest Giants news that day. At the introductory press conference, Managing General Partner Greg Johnson said two things that will make a much greater impact on the success of the Giants in 2024 and beyond.
Astros Break Out Against Scherzer, Rangers 'Pen

Oct 19, 2023 | hangingsliders.substack.com | Wendy Thurm

Photo by Corey Watson on UnsplashDo y’all understand now why Rangers manager Bruce Bochy left starters Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi in Games 1 and 2 for as long as possible? Even when they got in some trouble? Do y’all understand why Bochy started Max Scherzer in Game 3 even though Scherzer hasn’t pitched in an MLB game—much less under the stress of the postseason—since September 12?