An Open Future Forum community

General Counsel Executive Forum

Off the record. By invitation. A peer community for General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers.

A room built for
the legal seat

The General Counsel Executive Forum gathers General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, and senior in-house legal executives. It is part of Open Future Forum, and it runs on the same principle: everyone in the room is a giver. There is no pitch, no agenda, no recording, and the conversations are the ones legal leaders cannot have anywhere else.

Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. It runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors, including CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, founders, and AI leaders, through Forum Select, its invite-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings. Beyond events, Open Future Forum convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research built on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network.

"The best legal conversations happen off the record, with peers who have sat in the same seat."
  • 01AI in the legal department
  • 02Board and governance work
  • 03Privacy and regulatory risk
  • 04M&A and financings
  • 05Litigation strategy and legal operations
  • 06Building and leading legal teams

Private events
and open gatherings

The forum brings legal leaders together in two formats. Forum Select runs invite-only private events for General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers. Forum Events opens panels and gatherings to the wider executive and legal community.

Format

Forum Select

Invite-only private events for General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers, off the record and among peers.

Format

Forum Events

Open panels and gatherings for the wider executive, legal, and AI community.

Format

Roundtables

Small legal-leadership roundtables on the decisions that carry the most weight.

Format

Panels

Off-the-record sessions on the questions General Counsel and CLOs are working through right now.

Format

AI working sessions

Practical sessions on how AI is changing the legal department, built for the GC seat.

Format

Executive networking

Legal leaders meeting peers across the wider Open Future Forum community of senior executives.

The informal
selection criterion

The forum is built for legal leaders who make the room better. The question is simple: does this person give more than they take?

Members are identified by how they show up, long before any invitation is extended. If the answer is yes, a personal note follows.

  • General Counsel
  • Chief Legal Officers (CLOs)
  • Senior in-house legal executives
  • Deputy General Counsel and VPs of Legal at scaled companies
  • Legal leaders navigating the department through AI
  • Givers, always givers

Built on
Give and Take

Like every Open Future Forum room, the General Counsel Executive Forum runs on Adam Grant's Give and Take: the most generous people in the room create the most value over time.

Give

Share what you know

Members offer their honest read of the board, the risk, and the deal, without holding back for advantage.

Connect

Make the introduction

The most valued act in the room is a warm introduction made without being asked.

Return

Receive without obligation

This is not a quid pro quo network. The room holds the debt and pays it forward.

Ready to be
in the room?

If you think you belong in the General Counsel Executive Forum, or know a legal leader who does, we'd like to hear from you. Membership is by invitation or referral.

What people
ask us

Is this for General Counsels or Chief Legal Officers?
Both. The General Counsel Executive Forum is a peer community for General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, and senior in-house legal executives. Titles vary by company; the room is the same.
What is a General Counsel community?
A General Counsel community is a peer group where the most senior lawyers in an organization meet other legal leaders to compare decisions on governance, risk, AI, and running a legal department. The General Counsel Executive Forum is one such GC and CLO community, part of Open Future Forum.
Who can join the CLO community?
General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, and senior in-house legal executives, including Deputy General Counsel and VPs of Legal at scaled companies. Membership is by invitation or personal referral.
Where does the General Counsel Executive Forum meet?
Members meet through Forum Select private events and Forum Events open gatherings, primarily across Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, as part of the wider Open Future Forum calendar.
How is it related to Open Future Forum?
It is part of Open Future Forum, the global executive community founded in Silicon Valley in 2019. The General Counsel Executive Forum applies the same Give and Take philosophy to a room built for legal leaders.
How do I join the CLO community?
Membership is by invitation or personal referral. You can request an invitation through Open Future Forum.