________________________________________________________________________________________________ Audrey
Jean | 3E
Growing from a three-person, US-based team into a globally distributed group of seven goes beyond headcount. It reflects how the department has matured
into institutional risks and culture,” she said. That realization led her away from the cyclical and transaction cadence of an M & A practice, toward roles where legal judgment developed alongside the business itself.
She moved in‐house to Discovery Channel, then to Bloomberg Law, and finally to AARP before joining 3E. Each role placed her within organizations balancing growth, governance, and stakeholder expectations, while providing trusted solutions to their customers. Over time, she led teams and managed legal operations across different industries and organizational models.
When Audrey joined 3E, the legal department was small and US-based. Coverage existed, but scale, subject matter and regional depth did not. Her immediate priority involved listening. She met with leaders across the business to understand expectations and pressure points.“ We spent the first phase understanding what the team handled well, where gaps existed, and what the business actually needed from Legal,” Audrey notes.
From there, the department focused on targeted growth. Commercial contracting remained core, while coverage expanded to privacy, labor and employment across the globe, corporate governance, strategic transactions, IP, enterprise risk management, and legal operations. Lawyers now work closer to the regions they support.
Ann O’ Neil, Contract Specialist in Carlsbad, California( US) describes the shift.“ Growing from a three-person, US-based team into a globally distributed group of seven goes beyond headcount. It reflects how the department has matured and how central Legal has become to supporting a global business.”
Marine Paye, Corporate Counsel in Paris, France came aboard during the expansion.“ The Legal Department has shifted from a predominantly US-centered structure to one with lawyers embedded across regions. That transformation has made my role broader and more strategic,” she remarks.
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