Somya Kaushik brings a rare blend of trial, operational, and legal technology experience to the evolving practice of law. She began her career as a commercial trial attorney in New York City and Portland, settling million-dollar cases in federal court before moving in-house to lead legal strategy spanning AI, product, privacy, security, intellectual property, and compliance. Prior to Checkbox, Somya served as Associate General Counsel at Mitratech and General Counsel at Mineral. She is also the founder of Esq.Me, one of the first lawyer-to-lawyer legal document marketplaces in the United States and has led AI governance initiatives within global legal technology companies. In addition to her industry work, she teaches the next generation of legal professionals at Lewis & Clark Law School. Across litigation, legal operations, and technology leadership, Somya has seen firsthand how expectations of legal have evolved and where traditional operating models have failed to keep pace.
Teams are under relentless pressure to respond faster, navigate growing complexity, and give business partners clear, usable advice, all without sacrificing standards or increasing risk. AI is rapidly becoming part of that toolkit, helping to triage work, draft and refine documents, surface issues sooner, and support decision making across functions. The opportunity is significant, but so are the risks when outputs go unchecked, context is thin, or usage is inconsistent across the department. Today, practical, trustworthy AI in legal work depends less on clever prompts and more on disciplined habits, clear guardrails, and repeatable workflows that can be shared, audited, and continuously improved.
Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Somya.
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