Dana Rao, GC, Adobe. Courtesy photo. The past month has moved fast for Dana Rao. The former head of IP and litigation at Adobe Systems Inc. has jumped into the general counsel role at the San Jose, California-based company. Rao, whose promotion was announced June 18, has been learning the ropes of his new role from now-retiring Mike Dillon , who served as Adobe's GC for six years. Corporate Counsel spoke with Rao about how his transition is going so far, the importance of diversity and where he's taking Adobe's legal department next. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Corporate Counsel: What was your reaction to the appointment? When did you find out? Dana Rao: I was head of IP and litigation at Adobe, and then had the opportunity over the last few weeks, when Mike announced his retirement, to interview for the GC position. I was thrilled to get the offer. The transition is still in place. It's lots and lots of me learning from Mike about how he's done things. All the work I didn't see in my previous role I'm learning about now. I've had a few meetings with the CEO and I'm understanding the business and how I can help. So it's been quite a whirlwind. So you found out about your new job when the rest of us did? I knew we had a series of interviews, me and the other candidates, in that week, and then the CEO set up a time to talk to me. I didn't know whether I was getting an offer or being told it didn't work out, but he pulled me into a room, we sat down and he extended his hand. I was surprised and thrilled and excited. I didn't know it was coming. What are the new responsibilities you'll be taking on in this role? How much have you had to learn? The good news is I was responsible for litigation, and because of that role, I have been able to touch every facet of Adobe's business—privacy, sales, product—because litigation has to resolve [their legal problems]. That's been a good part of my past experience. Now, it's different directing a team responsible for those functions. I'm excited to work with the team Mike has built. I also have the role of secretary to the board, which is new to me. So being responsible for the agenda at the board meeting, and making sure the board is understood and heard is new. We just had our first board meeting this week and it was great. Has anyone replaced you as head of IP and litigation yet? We just had our first board meeting, so we're not ready yet to name a replacement. Absolutely we will have somebody functioning in the role we had before and in a couple of other roles. We're going to take this opportunity to look at the legal department. Adobe was 10,000 employees when I started, and it's 18,000 now. So the roadmap ahead is huge and I want to take this chance to make sure the legal team is built for that future. How has the legal department changed since you and Mike started six years ago? Will this impact how you approach your new job? I think it's changed a lot. Mike and I both came from different kinds of companies, bigger companies. Mike was at [Silver Springs Network] as GC. I was at Microsoft, so together when we came in I think we brought that sense of scale to the legal issues we were seeing at Adobe-- a sense of risk tolerance. I think the organization was interested in exploration on the business and legal side. Mike was able to use that desire to help the business do its job and help propose legal solutions instead of legal risks. That [philosophy] is something I embraced, something I plan to continue: How do we continue to be more efficient, drive contracts faster, provide legal advice better, think ahead to the legal issues of tomorrow and start solving them before it's a critical issue? Mike was really focused on diversity, which is important to me. We started this alliance with our diverse 1Ls that gives them in-house experience, which is hard to get, to reach that group of people who feel shut out of law because they don't feel welcome there. We also have a program called global legal services, where junior attorneys can come in-house. That's important for diversity because it's a place where diverse attorneys can start their in-house careers. This is an important issue for me. I'm an Indian American, and I'm from Philadelphia. I experienced the opposite of diversity and inclusion in my childhood. It's important that we have people of every color, men, women, LGBTQ people, on our team and to have their voices heard. Any other main goals for your time as GC? I have an IP background, and technology trends are really important to me. It helps the legal department do our job better, when we know where the legal industry is going. Privacy and artificial intelligence are going to be critical for Adobe, with Adobe Sensei [the company's AI and machine learning offering]. The magic of AI is the ability to eliminate repetitive tasks and focus on their highest-value task. The regulations associated with AI can be a burden or an opportunity for the legal profession. What are your passions outside of legal work? I have two daughters, one is about to head off to college. I play basketball every weekend. I'm learning to play the guitar, teaching myself to play so I can do some songwriting. I like writing, generally fiction, and when I have more time I'll do more of that. When I'm away from work I try to do creative stuff -- and basketball.

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