From Gatekeeper To Architect: How General Counsel Are Shaping Innovation in the AI Era

In this episode of She Said Privacy, He Said Security, hosts Jodi and Justin Daniels welcome Smriti Mohan, General Counsel at Awesome (parent company of SmugMug and Flickr), to explore the evolving role of General Counsels in the AI era. Mohan shares her journey from traditional law firm work to becoming a 'builder' and 'architect' of legal functions at companies like Dun & Bradstreet and now Awesome, where she leads privacy, IP, and AI governance initiatives. She emphasizes that modern GCs must move beyond gatekeeping to become proactive architects of innovation, embedded in product development from the start. The conversation dives into critical legal questions around AI—data ownership, AI-generated content authorship, liability frameworks, and vendor contract gaps—highlighting the risks of reactive legal involvement. Mohan stresses the importance of early legal engagement, relationship-building, and proactive governance frameworks to prevent irreversible legal exposure. She also offers a practical privacy tip: compartmentalizing email accounts to limit breach impact. The episode concludes with reflections on creativity, culture, and the human side of legal leadership. Key takeaways include: 1) General Counsels must be architects, not gatekeepers, in AI-driven product development; 2) Legal teams should embed themselves early in product cycles to prevent costly rework; 3) Proactively audit legacy vendor contracts for AI-related gaps and negotiate addendums; 4) Build flexible legal frameworks to adapt to evolving AI and platform liability laws; 5) Use email compartmentalization as a low-effort, high-impact privacy practice; 6) Foster trust through relationship-building across departments; 7) Address AI governance before regulations force it; 8) Recognize that copyright and liability laws are still unsettled in the AI context, requiring careful risk balancing.