Global law firm Goodwin announced today that Mary O’Carroll joined the firm as Chief Operating Officer, resident in the Silicon Valley office. She reports to Goodwin’s Managing Partner, Mark Bettencourt. As Chief Operating Officer, Mary will oversee Goodwin’s global operations (GO) team of more than 1,000 business professionals globally.
Mary will be responsible for developing and executing on transformational objectives and operational strategies, controls, and procedures aligned with the firm’s overall direction and goals. She will partner with the firm’s Chief Officers who lead the Finance, Client Development, Innovation and Information Technology, Information Security, Marketing and Communications, Practice Management, and Talent and Administration functions.
“At Goodwin, we produce unparalleled results, create highly valued outcomes, and provide strategic advice and integrated solutions for our clients,” said Mark Bettencourt. “This is our purpose, and our global operations team plays an essential and an increasingly sophisticated role in our ability to fulfill it. Mary is a deeply experienced, well-respected, and well-known legal operations executive with a proven track record of leading change and disruptive innovation both in-house and within law firms. Simply put, she is the ideal leader for our global operations team. We are delighted to welcome Mary to Goodwin.”
“Goodwin’s platform is unique in that it serves clients across the most dynamic industries, and where they converge with one another and with the power of exponential technology and disruptive innovation,” said Mary O’Carroll. “It is supercharged by best-in-class lawyers and a team of outstanding business professionals, who – together – focus on building and deepening purposeful client relationships. The combination of these factors has made joining Goodwin both an easy decision and a great privilege. I look forward to leading our global operations team and partnering with our lawyers as we continue to position Goodwin as the firm of choice for current and future clients.”
Most recently, Mary served as the Chief Community Officer at Ironclad, Inc., a leading contract management software company, where she drove strategic direction and operational excellence.
Prior to that, Mary spent 13 years as the Director of Legal Operations, Technology and Strategy at Google. Mary built out Google’s Legal Operations function, focused on strategic priorities, technology innovation, and implementation of processes and procedures to drive business results. While at Google, Mary helped found the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (“CLOC”), a global community of legal operations professionals. CLOC’s membership grew from 40 to 3,000 members over the five-year period during which she served as its President, CEO, and Board Member.
Mary’s work and innovation with Google, CLOC, and Ironclad were the subjects of two Harvard Law School case studies. She is a frequent and established business of law and innovation speaker and thought leader.
Earlier in her career, Mary served as the Strategy, Operations, and Profitability Manager at a global law firm. Mary received her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley.