How does Legal move from cost center to growth engine as expectations rise?
Ron Bell, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer at Collective Health, joins Steph Corey to discuss the new standard for legal leadership and what it really takes for Legal to prove value, earn trust, and perform when the margin for error is small, and expectations keep going up.
Listen to the UpLevel View and improve your legal leadership vision today!

• Collective Health: collectivehealth.com

• Ron Bell: linkedin.com/in/ronsbell/

• UpLevel Ops: http://UplevelOps.com

• Above The Law: http://AbovetheLaw.com

Legal leadership
Cost center to growth engine
Legal operations
AI in legal
Strategic GC
Risk management
Value storytelling
Legal metrics
Adaptability
Business-first legal

Above the Law

00:00–02:15 - The rising bar for legal leadership and shrinking margin for error
02:15–03:38 - Why Legal is still treated like a cost center—and how that narrative formed
03:38–04:31 - Reframing Legal from ballast to motor
04:31–05:30 - Legal judgment vs. Legal's true job
05:30–06:39 - Outsource, automate, or stop doing the work
06:39–08:00 - Maintenance, protection, and aspirational legal work
08:00–09:31 - How experienced lawyers learn to focus on what actually matters
09:31–10:26 - AI's role in automating low-value legal work
10:26–12:23 - Why GCs get stuck in the weeds—and how to get out
12:23–13:44 - Stakeholder overload and expectation-setting
13:44–15:20 - Telling the right value story to earn respect and resources
15:20–17:02 - Being brought in early vs. "raining on the parade"
17:02–18:57 - Metrics that matter—and metrics that mislead
18:57–21:19 - Legal ops as strategic partner, not support function
21:19–25:49 - Change management and adoption challenges
25:49–31:49 - AI's impact on legal teams, hiring, and structure
31:49–34:12 - Skills future legal leaders must build
34:12–37:03 - Legal's opportunity to shape trust in unstable times
37:03–40:46 - Adaptability as the ultimate career advantage

Summary

In the first episode of 2026 for the UpLevel View podcast, Stephanie Corey and Ken Callander sit down with Rita Gunther McGrath, Columbia Business School professor and Wall Street Journal columnist, to talk about how AI is forcing professional services to price outcomes instead of hours.

From law firms to in-house legal teams, the rules of value are being rewritten. The question is: who's ready to lead the change?

Listen to the UpLevel View and improve your legal leadership vision today!

Episode Highlights

00:00:18 - Introducing Rita Gunther McGrath.

00:02:23 - Definition of strategic inflection points.

00:03:21 - Legal industry disruption with AI.

00:06:47 - Shift from billable hours to value.

00:12:26 - The economic model and compensation structure challenges.

00:23:39 - Historical change movements as a model for legal transformation.

00:32:30 - Training and learning in the AI age.

00:39:36 - The concept of permissionless organizations.

00:40:15 - "Two percent less stupid" book title.

Episode resources:

• http://UpLevelOps.com

• Brainwave Newsletter by UpLevel Ops: http://UpLevelOps.com/Brainwave

• Thought Sparks Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719

• Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack: https://thoughtsparks.substack.com

• Learn more about Professor McGrath at: http://RitaMcGrath.com

Keywords

• UpLevel View

• Stephanie Corey

• Ken Callander

• Rita Gunther McGrath

• strategy

• innovation

• Columbia Business School

• Wall Street Journal

• Thinkers 50

• The End of Competitive Advantage

• Seeing Around Corners

• AI

• inflection points

• disruption

• value-based pricing

• legal industry

• billable hours

• professional services

• general counsel

• law firms

• legal operations

• Uber

• Airbnb

• marijuana legalization

• economic model

• law firm culture

• consulting firms

• transformation

• change management

• in-house teams

• apprenticeships

• legal training

• skill development

• future partners

• media industry

• Hollywood

• entertainment industry

• strategy

• scarcity

• permissionless organizations

• two percent less stupid

What happens when a nonprofit embraces AI not for the hype, but for the help? In the latest episode of the UpLevel View podcast, Brandi Pack and Ken Callander sit down with Cristal Cardenas Sanchez, Director, Research & Evaluation, Hanna Center, and Marissa La Brecque, VP of Research and Training, from Hanna Center, to talk about how their grassroots AI pilot turned into a full 2026 roadmap. Hear how they're using GenAI to streamline operations, spark new ideas, and even open the door to a broader range of grant opportunities, without losing sight of their mission.

Highlights

• Streamlining data collection at Hanna Center.

• Hanna Center's mission and services overview.

• Significant data entry challenges faced early on.

• Custom AI tools drastically reduce manual data entry.

• Adoption process and early AI successes.

• Building confidence and addressing privacy concerns.

• Efficient internal adoption fuels enthusiasm.

• Insights into using AI for organizational transformation.

• Impressive ROI from AI tool implementation.

• Planning and prioritizing AI use cases for next year.

• Enhancing grant opportunities with AI tools.

• Recommended starting points for non-profits using AI.

• Creative applications of AI across departments.

• Hanna Center's evolving use of AI and future plans.

Episode Resources

• UpLevel Ops Master Chef GPT: https://chatgpt.com/g/g-oVwrdPo0I-master-chef

• UpLevel Ops Wanderlust GPT: https://chatgpt.com/g/g-eDSeep6qT-wanderlust-guide

• Thought Leadership from UpLevel Ops: https://uplevelops.com/thoughtleadership/

• LINK (Legal Innovators Network): http://Linkforlegal.com

• Connect with Stephanie Corey

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephcorey-ulo

• https://fr.linkedin.com/company/uplevel-ops

• https://uplevelops.com/

• https://uplevelops.com/legal-operations-consulting/

• https://uplevelops.com/thoughtleadership/

• https://uplevelops.com/services/gai-management/

• GAI Management Services from UpLevel Ops: https://uplevelops.com/services/gai-management/

• https://www.intel.la/content/www/xl/es/homepage.html

• GAI Management Solutions from UpLevel Ops: https://uplevelops.com/services/gai-management/