By: Joshua Finley
Catherine Lacavera is a force to be reckoned with in the world of law and technology. Her career trajectory—beginning at one of Wall Street’s most prestigious law firms and rising to Vice President of global litigation at Google—has been nothing short of remarkable. Dubbed Google’s secret weapon for her string of litigation victories, today, as Chief Legal Officer of Turing, an AI company, Lacavera reflects on her dynamic journey, sharing how she reached the top.
Early Career and Transition to Google
Her broad educational background was undoubtedly the foundation of her dynamic career. “I am a collector of degrees, having studied computer engineering, law, and business, as well as receiving an honorary doctorate,” she quipped. After four years of cutting her teeth at White & Case, one of New York’s most prestigious law firms, she made the decision to join Google in 2005, a move that would set her on course for an extraordinary career at the intersection of tech and law that she has thus far enjoyed.
She reminisced about joining Google and how it was not an obvious choice at the time: “I took the leap to a little company called Google back in 2005 when the company had about 2,000 employees. The move took me from the heart of Manhattan to the tiny town of Mountain View, a place I had never heard of before. I saw it as a short sabbatical from law firm life, but then I stayed for 16 years.” At that time, she built the litigation department at Google into an international powerhouse that was widely regarded as among the greatest in-house litigation teams of all time. “By the time I left, my team was 300 people successfully managing thousands of lawsuits globally.”
Handling Major Legal Cases
Lacavera played an instrumental role in handling some of the most critical intellectual property cases in history. She led Google to victory in numerous multi-billion dollar lawsuits, including defending Android in the global cell phone wars initiated by Apple and Microsoft, defeating copyright attacks by the content industry against YouTube, and winning a U.S. Supreme Court victory against Oracle over the Java APIs. Her litigation track record is unparalleled.
In addition to litigation, Lacavera led a global compliance enhancement initiative at Google, supported patent reform initiatives, and advised on complex licenses and M&A transactions, including the Google acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion and Nest for $3.2 billion and the sale of Motorola Home to Arris for $2.2 billion. She also led the negotiation of a $490 million multi-party agreement with TiVo. “It was a 16-year ride and a wild one,” she reminisced.
A New Chapter
After 16 years at Google, Lacavera was ready for a new challenge. “I wanted to do meaningful work during the pandemic, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as Chief Legal Officer at Color Health,” she said. Color Health is known for facilitating COVID testing and vaccination efforts across 40 states and is also a leading provider of genetic testing and cancer screening. Color proved to be a good opportunity for Lacavera to explore the health sector, which is not only riddled with compliance issues but also offers challenging and important legal work. When COVID thankfully became less relevant, she accepted a role as Chief Legal Officer at ShipBob, a global logistics company for SMBs, allowing her to further broaden her horizons in yet another industry, before recently returning to her roots in technology as Chief Legal Officer at Turing.
Leadership and Startup Involvement
Throughout the years, Lacavera has kept a deep connection to the startup ecosystem. “I did a lot of work with startups. I served as an advisor to many startups and incubators and a judge for many years for the Hatchery, a University of Toronto incubator,” she said. Her passion for startups and innovation goes further, as she invests in many early-stage companies and venture funds.
Lacavera also keeps the sense of community alive for former Google employees with her work for Xooglers, the network of founders, funders, and operators supported by the non-profit The Network Institute, where she serves on the board of directors. “Xooglers is now 35,000 members strong globally, and The Network Institute plans to expand to support other tech communities,” she said. This has allowed her to keep in touch with many talented people working across the tech industry.
Besides her professional goals, Lacavera continues with personal projects, including writing children’s books with the help of her young son. “I recently published “What Did You Do at School Today?” and have two more books coming out soon, all focussed on encouraging children to share their experiences to promote family engagement and support school success,” she told us enthusiastically. Balancing her many commitments and interests is sometimes challenging, she admits. “I definitely don’t do well at saying no. I tend to say yes to every opportunity.”
Conclusion
Catherine Lacavera’s career has been built in a ‘leading-innovating-navigating’ mode, operating at the crossroads of law, technology, and business. Her extensive legal and compliance experience and her love for startups and community building make her a formidable figure in both the tech and legal worlds.
Connect with Catherine Lacavera on LinkedIn for leadership insights and innovative management solutions.
Published by Jeremy S.
