The best legal metric is the one that never shows up in a report because we caught it early and it never became an issue the business with legal expertise. By design, each priority supports decisions rather than respond to outcomes.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Janet
Saura | KBS
At Amazon, Janet led a global employee relations and investigations team. The scale reinforced that mindset.“ I have always focused on solving problems proactively rather than waiting for escalation,” Janet adds.
The best legal metric is the one that never shows up in a report because we caught it early and it never became an issue the business with legal expertise. By design, each priority supports decisions rather than respond to outcomes.
Her approach connects directly to how she sees the legal function.“ Show up as a business partner. You do not need every answer, but you do need to use sound business judgment and insight to present the best advice to the business,” Janet points out.
Data and signals
At Ford Motor Company, Janet worked in e-discovery and saw how data reveals patterns. Janet remembers“ learning the power of data and pattern matching at scale very early.”
At Lowe’ s, she built programs to reduce litigation exposure.“ Having a single leader dedicated to proactive programs was a game changer,” she says. The structure enabled the team to focus on prevention.
Today, those experiences guide how she measures success at KBS.“ Many legal functions measure outputs, like cases closed, litigation spend, or settlement amounts. All are important, but they are lagging indicators,” Janet observes. Instead, her team focuses on early signals like response times, training completion, repeat issues, and contract clarity to understand and influence outcomes before they materialize.
That philosophy extends beyond litigation into safety and operations.“ The best legal metric is the one that never shows up in a report because we caught it early enough that it never became an issue,” Janet says. This philosophy led to the‘ Nothing Happened Award’, which celebrates prevention work that never generates a case, claim, or report.
Technology plays a central role, though Janet frames it as an enabler.“ Technology embedded into processes gives legal and risk teams the greatest impact. It does not replace judgment, but it helps you move through data faster and see patterns that might otherwise not be visible,” Janet explains.
Her dual role across legal and IT reflects that view. Systems must deliver usable outputs. Data must lead to action.“ It is imperative to bring technology solutions that work for the business, cut through the noise of data, and provide actionable steps consistently,” Janet remarks.
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