In this conversation, Salvador Carranza and Navin Mahavijiyan dig into how legal teams can shift from “approvers” to true “advisors,” why community and relationships still drive outcomes, and how to apply AI in CLM with a measured, business-first lens. Navin shares his journey from Malaysia to the U.S., early days negotiating enterprise contracts at Thomson Reuters, building legal ops muscle, launching his own consultancy, and now leading community efforts at Agiloft—while weaving in parenting, risk management, and even video-game lessons on experimentation and resilience. Listen to the entire podcast and learn even more!
Takeaways
• Advisor vs. Approver: Reframe legal’s purpose—enable smart business decisions instead of blocking them. • Risk isn’t the enemy—mismanaged risk is. Treat parenting, contracts, and AI adoption as ongoing risk-assessment exercises. • Execution over hype: AI and automation matter when they’re embedded where they drive results, not as bolt-on chatbots. • Contracts serve the business, not the other way around—optimize for revenue flow and relationships. • Community compounds learning: share playbooks, compare implementations, and ask better questions together. • Be adaptable: experiment, pivot, and keep perspective; tech should be fun, not fear-inducing.
👤 Guest Bio Navin Mahavijiyan is a contracts/CLM strategist and community leader at Agiloft. He previously negotiated enterprise deals at Thomson Reuters, led CLM implementations and legal operations (including at Modernizing Medicine), and founded Black Paladin Solutions to help teams modernize contracting and legal tech. 🔗 Connect with Navin • LinkedIn: connect to swap ideas on legal ops, CLM, and AI (he’s big on community!). https://www.linkedin.com/in/navin-mahavijiyan/
🔗 Connect with Salvador • For conversations at the intersection of entrepreneurship, legal tech, leadership, and culture.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvadorcarranza/
https://www.possiblaw.com
👉 If you’re fascinated by the entrepreneurial mindset, professional growth, and learning the skills to succeed, hit Subscribe and tap the bell so you never miss an episode!
Chapters 00:00 Intro to Podcast
02:16 Intro to Navin - Personally
04:40 The Importance of Community and Shared Experiences
07:41 Navigating Parenting in a Digital Age
10:44 The Role of Technology in Socialization
13:18 Risk Management in Parenting and Contracts
16:27 The Journey into Law and Technology
19:25 The Entrepreneurial Mindset in Legal Practice
31:05 The Importance of Business Mindset in Contract Management
36:26 Facilitating Contracts: From Approver to Advisor
40:07 The Role of Legal Departments: Advisor vs. Approver
44:49 AI’s Potential in Legal Operations
50:46 Navin’s Journey: From Malaysia to Legal Tech
01:04:52 Starting a Consulting Journey
01:08:28 Building Community Connections
01:11:16 The Role of AI in Legal Tech
01:24:23 Agiloft’s Position in the AI Landscape
