An Interview with Chad Silverstein
Not understanding contract dos and don’ts upfront: When you sign something, you agree to certain terms, such as “I won’t do this” or “I will do this.” The most basic example is when you sign up for a subscription. Many people don’t understand that they can’t terminate the contract and get their money back. So, understanding all your contractual obligations is crucial.
In today’s fast-paced business world, the complexity of legal matters can often be overlooked, leading to significant repercussions for businesses of all sizes. From startup ventures to established corporations, the absence of legal guidance can result in critical errors that affect growth, operations, and sustainability. These mistakes range from issues with contracts and intellectual property to compliance and employment law, each carrying the potential for financial loss and reputational damage.
Cynthia Ng leads the Legal and Privacy teams at Telesign. Cynthia has more than 20 years’ experience in legal practice in IT and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional. Prior to Telesign, Cynthia was VP at CA Technologies working first in their Sydney office, then moving to Beijing, and finally relocated to New York to work at their HQ. She has a dual degree in Science and Law from the Australian National University and a Master of Laws from the University of Southern California. She is called to the Bar in California, Australia, and Malaysia.
To start, could you share your “origin story” with our readers? How did you begin your career? What challenges did you face in the early days? How did you overcome them?
I’m originally from Malaysia and then went to university in Australia where I earned my law degree. I then came back and worked in Malaysia and Singapore at traditional law firms, before returning to Australia. When I moved back to Australia, I actually joined a Fortune 500 software company in their legal department. After working at that company for several years, an opportunity arose within the company to move to Beijing and I raised my hand. It was a finance role, but I really was excited to move to Beijing. So, I moved from the legal department as a lawyer to this finance role. After working in Beijing, my boss asked me to move to New York for four months for a temporary project and I ended up staying in New York for 11 years with the company in a sales operations capacity.
After leaving that company, I joined Telesign as Director of Sales Operations. That was about 12 years ago. The role was in California, so I also decided to sit for the California bar exam, and Telesign supported me and gave me the time needed to do this. Once I passed the bar, I then moved over to Telesign’s legal team.
Of course there were challenges along the way. There were cultural challenges I had to adjust to whether I was working in Malaysia, Australia, China or the U.S. I had to adapt to how people work in each of those places. I also had to adjust to all the different roles I stepped into. I was fortunate to have great managers who supported me throughout my career and throughout all the transitions I made. My career journey to being Telesign’s Chief Legal Officer has not been the most direct of routes, but I think it has given me a unique perspective in terms of having worked overseas and having experienced all sides of the business — finance, legal and sales. And I’m really grateful to Telesign for giving me the opportunity and enabling me to grow into the Chief Legal Officer position.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
Unlike many people in business, I don’t read a lot of management books. I’m not really into non-fiction books, probably because I spend so much time at work reading documents. When I do read, I like to sit down with a good novel. However, my career coach recently recommended a helpful management book called Your Invisible Network and I’m reading that now.
Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life or your work?
I’m dating myself with this story. Apparently, when Nicole Kidman divorced Tom Cruise her father, who is a psychologist, said to her, “It’s not what it should be. It’s not what it could be. It is what it is.” To me, that means you take what life gives you and you deal with it. You work on the problem at hand and find a way to move forward. I believe it’s also important to have a sense of humor. Sometimes you just have to laugh and move on.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
At Telesign, I’m focused every day on our mission of making the digital world a safer place. But I also want to make the physical world a safer place. One way I’ve worked to do that was by leading my team of salespeople to spend a day volunteering at Habitat for Humanity after one of our Sales Revenue Kickoff events. There are a lot of old houses in LA that may not survive a big earthquake, so we helped to refurbish these houses and make them safer for their new owners.
Ok, let’s now turn to the central part of our interview. What is the most common legal mistake you see businesses make due to the lack of proper legal counsel, and what are its potential consequences?
Many small companies have limited resources, so they often don’t want to spend the money to hire an in-house lawyer or even an external lawyer to review contracts. That means the CEO or CFO will sometimes sign a contract without legal consultation and without understanding the details of what they’ve just read. Everyone is happy and friendly until one side has a problem and decides to get litigious and make a claim. There are always financial consequences in the end, so it’s best to get a lawyer up front and understand everything that is in that contract from the very beginning.
Another common mistake is failing to put together a proper data retention and compliance program. Breaches happen all the time, and for most businesses it’s a matter of when, not if. So, if your business collects any kind of data, it’s imperative to be aware of the privacy laws in every country you do business in, and to work with a lawyer or legal firm to comply with them.
Can you share an example where early legal intervention could have significantly altered the outcome of a business dispute or challenge?
The culture that I’m building as the head of the legal team is to be a real partner with the various internal departments, especially sales. We are now at a point where legal is really being brought into the conversation early. I don’t want legal to ever be viewed as a roadblock or an impediment to getting things done. Instead, we want to be viewed as a partner to the business. This is important because when internal departments come to us early, we are able to work together as a team and address any potential problems before they reach a point where they need to be fixed.
How do changes in digital technology and online business practices complicate legal issues for businesses without dedicated legal advice?
Advances in technology, such as the rise of generative AI, are in many ways getting ahead of the law. The law can’t catch up because it is years behind, or in some cases, even decades behind. Laws are written in such a way that they do not accommodate all the exciting new breakthroughs that are happening now. This means businesses need to be careful because when forging ahead with new technology, they may be inadvertently breaching certain laws.
In your experience, how does the absence of legal counsel impact a business’s approach to contracts and negotiations, and what advice would you give to mitigate these risks?
I’m going to reframe this question in terms of not having the right legal counsel. Again, legal can’t be a roadblock to doing business. It has to be a partner. That’s why it’s so important to have the right legal counsel on your team that can help propel the business forward. It has to be someone who really understands your business and what you are trying to accomplish, and not someone who is just going to say no to everything.
What legal pitfalls do new businesses often overlook during their initial setup and growth phases, and how can they proactively address these issues?
It’s failing to invest properly in legal advice and not having a plan when issues do arise. It could be as basic as not having enough insurance or not understanding the consequences if you agree to A, B or C. At the very least, you should have a legal framework you can work with and that protects the company against some of the bigger known risks.
Here is our main question. Could you list and briefly explain “Top 5 Mistakes Businesses Make Without Legal Counsel” based on your experiences and insights? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
- Not understanding contract dos and don’ts upfront: When you sign something, you agree to certain terms, such as “I won’t do this” or “I will do this.” The most basic example is when you sign up for a subscription. Many people don’t understand that they can’t terminate the contract and get their money back. So, understanding all your contractual obligations is crucial.
- Neglecting data governance and privacy obligations: Many businesses underestimate the complexity and importance of data governance and privacy regulations. For example, without proper legal guidance, a business might collect customer data without realizing the legal requirements for storing, processing, and protecting that information. In the event of a data breach, they may not know the proper notification procedures, potentially leading to fines and reputational damage. Legal counsel can help navigate these regulations and help to minimize risk.
- Mishandling employment and HR matters: Employment law can be tricky, leading to costly mistakes in hiring, managing, and terminating employees. Without proper legal guidance, a new business might hire employees using generic contracts found online, unaware that these may not comply with local labor laws. Or they might fire an employee without following proper procedures, exposing themselves to potential lawsuits. Legal counsel can help draft appropriate employment contracts and develop comprehensive HR policies that are in compliance with relevant labor laws.
- Failing to protect intellectual property: A startup might develop innovative software without patenting key features, leaving them vulnerable to competitors. Or a consumer brand might use a logo without properly trademarking it, risking brand dilution or legal challenges. Having legal counsel can help you develop a comprehensive IP protection strategy.
- Choosing the wrong business structure for your business: This mistake is all too common. For instance, a new business might not understand the best entity structure to set up when starting out. Proper entity selection is fundamental to a business’s legal and financial health. It affects everything from day-to-day operations to long-term strategy. The right legal advice can help you get it right from the beginning, saving time, money, and legal headaches down the road.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
It’s no exaggeration to say we’re in an arms race against digital fraud. As the chief legal officer at Telesign, I can’t think of a more noble or more critical mission than combatting fraud and protecting digital identities. Along those lines, I would love to see Taylor Swift give a PSA about the need for everyone to use multifactor authentication to better protect their identity. After all, Taylor herself has been a victim of AI-generated deepfakes.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
Cynthia Ng of Telesign On the Top 5 Mistakes Businesses Make Without Legal Counsel was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.