Q&A with Linda Netsch, FLEX General Manager
General Manager Linda Netsch has been at the head of FLEX since 2018. Previously, Linda worked extensively with Fenwick as a consultant and taught negotiations courses with FLEX Founder Ralph Pais. In her current capacity, Linda is responsible for managing strategy and operations for FLEX, and working with Fenwick attorneys and staff to ensure effective collaboration and support. As a past lecturer, executive consultant, practicing attorney, and U.S. Air Force Officer, Linda's unique perspective and blend of experience guided FLEX through hyper-growth years. Read below to learn more.
Q: Can you tell us more about your career prior to FLEX?
Prior to law school I was an active-duty Air Force officer working on intelligence communication systems in Europe for NATO allies. I then went to Harvard Law School on an Air Force scholarship. The most influential course I took was “Negotiation” taught by the authors of the book Getting to Yes. After taking the course, I was asked to help teach the material through the Harvard Negotiation Project, which became a big part of my career going forward.
After graduating, I became a judge advocate doing a variety of legal work including criminal prosecution, employment law, labor arbitration, and advising on search and seizure. My last role was as an assistant professor at the US Air Force Academy, where I started a course in negotiation and taught business law and law for commanders.
After leaving the Air Force, I worked as an alternative dispute resolution attorney in the employment division of the US Postal Service in Washington DC. I then joined an entertainment firm in LA as a litigator. While at the firm, I was asked to come back to teach negotiation as a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School during their three-week January terms. Who could say “no” to three weeks in Boston every January? I decided it was time to quit practicing law and started my own consulting business.
My consulting practice allowed me to work with business and legal professionals all over the world for many years. When I moved to the SF Bay area, I started teaching negotiation at Stanford Law School and met Ralph Pais, who was also teaching a course in negotiation. Fenwick became my client for a variety of coaching and consulting work, and Ralph eventually started FLEX. The idea of solving client needs beyond the outside counsel work that Fenwick does so well was proof to me that Ralph not only teaches creative negotiation but puts it into practice.
When the role of the General Manager at FLEX opened, I was ready to stop traveling so much and focus more on practicing negotiation rather than teaching and consulting. While I had never been in-house at a tech company, I had experience leading teams and negotiating contracts. Ralph and Alex Smith had successfully established FLEX and it was gaining traction. That was in 2018, and time does fly when you’re having fun.
Q: In your experience, what are FLEX's greatest challenges?
A continuous challenge is having the right balance of high-quality attorneys and interesting opportunities for those attorneys. When the legal market is thriving, as it was right after the initial COVID shock, it was hard to get enough lawyers with the in-house tech company experience that FLEX clients seek. When the tech market tightened with layoffs and hiring freezes, more high-quality lawyers were available while opportunities were harder to find. We are constantly working to make sure we find more opportunities when we have lawyers available and more high caliber lawyers when demand is high for those skills.
Q: In retrospect, what were some of FLEX's greatest achievements over the past five years?
As a service offering of Fenwick, a law firm, FLEX must clearly understand the difference between the type of work that requires the expertise and resources of outside counsel like Fenwick and the type of work that should be done by lawyers who are inside the business and manage different risk tolerances. Apparently, there was skepticism about whether FLEX could get that assessment right when the service was first started. However, after many successful engagements and very positive feedback about the quality of the work done by FLEX attorneys, Fenwick partners regularly refer their clients and colleagues to FLEX for high quality in-house legal work. That work would likely have gone to third-party providers outside of Fenwick, whereas now we maintain a positive connection to the client in-house. The professionalism and skill of our internal FLEX team, along with the quality of FLEX lawyers who work with our clients, have given the partners of Fenwick the confidence that FLEX enhances the service offerings of Fenwick and is a significant value add for clients. I’m fortunate and grateful to work with such skilled professionals.
Q: How do you define success?
That’s a question that I always ask in negotiation courses, so I’ll give that answer first. Negotiation success is using effective communication to develop agreements to meet the interests of those involved – better than alternative choices – supported by relevant benchmarks and constructive relationships. Success for FLEX means providing high quality legal services to clients while providing compelling opportunities for our FLEX attorneys. For me personally, professional success is working with intelligent, thoughtful, humorous people who challenge and support me while I continue to learn.
Q: What can we expect from FLEX in 2025?
We draw our expectations from what Fenwick partners see and hear from their clients and from what the media predicts about the economy next year. Given predictions that more business-friendly regulatory practices will be coming, with more opportunities for M&A and IPO work in a strong economy, we expect practice areas for FLEX that have been somewhat depressed will pick up – specifically in-house corporate work associated with M&A and IPOs. AI/ML will undoubtedly continue to influence legal demands, and we expect clients to ask for FLEX attorneys who have had experience working in AI in compliance and commercial roles. Blockchain related work, such as cryptocurrency experience, is likely to increase. As usual, we expect strong demand for technology transactions support, especially if the tech industry continues to grow past the challenges of high inflation fears. Product and privacy roles will likely be steady or increasing. We hope to see more demand for life sciences and employment roles as part of a strong economy. We will continue to work with our business development colleagues to find interesting opportunities for our roster of impressive FLEX attorneys.