Sarah Schaaf is the CEO of Headnote, leaving litigation, so that she could help law firms get paid. Based in San Francisco, Schaaf, 37, is backed with venture money for Headnote .

 

Schaaf is featured in ALM’s Legaltech news in it’s “Women of Legal Tech” monthly column (I write it). Schaaf talks about her decision to dive into tech, and shares her experiences in success, and her challenges.

You can read it here.

 

CODEX EXTRAS

Here are three bonus questions exclusive to CodeX:

Work tips re: “managing up:” Do whatever you can to cut the learning curve. This goes hand-in-hand with asking others for help. When you’re trying to move up — or do something new — learning from someone who has been there before is invaluable. Sometimes learning what not to do is far more valuable than what you should do, so learn from other’s mistakes when you can. Put yourself out there — which means digging into your network and asking for help. Many founders tell me they’re afraid to do it, but the fact is everyone successful had someone help along the way, and most people are just waiting for an opportunity to do the same for someone else.

 

Who was your most important mentor: Porter Gale has been a mentor and friend. She’s been instrumental in helping me break into the tech community and always inspires me to push harder and be kind to myself. Early in my career in tech she opened so many doors for me and showed me the true value of my network, and always treating everyone with respect and equality. We met fortuitously because my husband saw her give a Women in Tech talk when he was working at Quantcast, and approached her afterwards and asked if he could intro me to her. She said yes — we met and hit it off and the rest is history. The entire experience has shown me that you just never know unless you ask, people are full of surprises.

 

Favorite charities: ASPCA because my dog is a rescue and she brings us so much joy. I can’t imagine our life without her. I also give regularly to Planned Parenthood because I believe deeply in their mission. I also make sure to donate to NPR (National Public Radio) annually because I just love their programming and podcasts like How I Built This and More Perfect.

 

MORE: WOMEN OF LEGAL TECH – 2018

Have you noticed that there are several “Women of Legal Tech” groups recently?
Among them are:

• Women of Legal Tech 2018 for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Die Ausschreibung: Women of Legal Tech 2018. 

Das LTO-Interview: Neue Auszeichnung für weibliche Legal-Techies – Frauen in Legal Tech: Bitte vor­t­reten!

(From Nico Kuhlmann )

 

• Women of Legal Tech 2018:  American Bar Association: The Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC).
Among the comments:
Law Technology Today:  Robert Ambrogi called 2017 “The Year of Women in Legal Tech.”

 

Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX. She is also a freelance journalist (Alchemizing Law LLC with Sean Doherty). Bay is a member of the California Bar. Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu. Twitter: @MonicaBay.

Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Schaaf
Cover: Clipart.com.