As the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) broadens—and steps into a more formal phase of governance—we spoke with its inaugural chair, Laura Dieudonné, about what it takes to grow without losing focus.
CLOC is getting bigger—and more complex.
Over the past few years, the organization has moved beyond its in-house roots, broadening to include law firms, service providers, technologists, and a wider cross-section of the legal ecosystem. The shift reflects how legal work actually gets done. It also raises a more immediate question: how to grow without losing focus.
For Laura Dieudonné, the answer starts with structure.
“We’ve grown, and we’re continuing to grow,” she says. “That requires strong governance so we remain purpose-driven and protect what this organization has built.”
As the organization broadens, so do the demands on it—more stakeholders, more expectations, and more room for priorities to drift. In that context, governance becomes less about formality and more about alignment.
“If we say we’re going to do something, we have to do it—and be clear about why.”
But when Dieudonné talks about how she approaches that challenge, she doesn’t start with structure. She starts with community.
“I’ve always raised my hand,” she says. “Because to me, community is everything.”
It’s shaped by experience—mentors who helped her navigate the profession, and a sense that access should be extended, not assumed.
“I want to be the person in the room who notices someone standing off to the side—unsure how to engage—and help bring them in.”
That tension—between scale and connection—is what defines the role.
CLOC’s move into a broader ecosystem was deliberate.
“We made a decision to expand,” Dieudonné says. “First to law firms—and then to the broader ecosystem.”
That ecosystem now includes service providers, technologists, and even law students—groups that increasingly operate as part of the same working environment.
“We work with law firms every day. Service providers help us build workflows. Why wouldn’t they be part of the same conversation?”
The shift reflects how legal operations functions in practice: across roles, organizations, and environments that don’t operate in isolation.
For members, that reach has practical implications.
“If I’m rolling out a new CLM or document management system, I can reach into this community,” she says. “Someone’s done it. Someone can guide it.”
But the same move that increases value also introduces strain. As participation broadens, maintaining clarity of purpose—and consistency in execution—becomes harder.
That is where governance moves from background to priority.
CLOC’s board has shifted significantly in recent years, bringing in members with expertise across AI, finance, operations, and community. Rather than centralizing decision-making, Dieudonné is structuring around that range.
“We’re creating subcommittees aligned to where people are strongest—technology, community, accessibility,” she says. “Let people lead where they have depth.”
Her role, as she describes it, is to support those efforts and ensure they remain aligned with member value.
“I’m here to support the board, the staff, and our volunteers—and to make sure what we’re doing delivers value to members.”
That alignment depends as much on listening as it does on structure.
“As leaders, we have to be listeners first,” she says. “We need to hear what our members are saying—not just tell them what we think they should learn.”
The result is a move away from top-down programming toward something more responsive—meeting members where they are, then helping them move forward through connection, access, and shared experience.
It also shapes how she defines durability.
“There should be a playbook—where we started, what we’ve done, and what comes next.”
For Dieudonné, that’s the work: put structure under growth and keep it usable as the organization broadens.
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Laura Dieudonné is a legal operations executive at Delta Air Lines and inaugural Chair of CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium). With a background spanning legal administration, human resources management, and corporate legal operations, she has built and led programs focused on governance, process design, and cross-functional alignment. Her work centers on strengthening how legal teams operate, measure performance, and deliver value across complex enterprises.