From Managing Partner to Intel CLO: Career Lessons and Thoughts on Modern Legal Practice (April Miller Boise)

In this episode April Miller Boise, with stints as Chief Legal Officer at Intel and managing partner at Thompson Hine, shares insights from her career. The conversation explores the shifting dynamics between corporate legal departments and outside counsel and the necessity of embracing legal technology. April also provides advice for junior lawyers on developing long-term expertise and trusted relationships in an AI-driven environment.

Things we Talk About in this Episode

• Career progression: From Wall Street M&A partner and law firm managing partner to Chief Legal Officer.

• The fundamental differences between driving P&L at a law firm versus serving on an executive leadership team in-house.

• Addressing the widening gap between corporate expectations and traditional law firm service delivery models.

• Experience navigating global manufacturing, innovation, and supply chain transformations at Eaton and Intel.

• Practical approaches to generative and agentic AI adoption in legal departments and outside counsel.

• Key attributes for modern legal talent: Intellectual curiosity, agility, and comfort with calculated risks.

• Career advice for young lawyers: Balancing AI efficiency tools with the 10,000-hour principle of skill-building.

• Why historical legal tech struggled to scale and how current enterprise AI investments are fundamentally altering the legal landscape.

Episode Credits

Editing and Production: Grant Blackstock

Theme Music: Home Base (Instrumental Version) by TA2MI