Karen Nachbar

About

Experience

• Chief Legal OfficerCurrent

  Vanilla

  Mar 2025 – Present

  Lead legal and compliance team at SaaS tech company in estate planning wealth advisory space. Advisor to C-Suite and Board of Directors; manage corporate governance and cap table. Closed $35 million Series B-1 financing round in Aug 2024. Architect scalable processes for triaging a high volume of disparate legal issues from all areas of the business in an ever-changing environment. Manage IP portfolios, insurance portfolio, and litigation. Established and scaled enterprise compliance and security program, earning four consecutive clean SOC 2 Type II audits from initial certification, with full ownership of controls design, audit execution, and InfoSec compliance governance. Drive enterprise-wide AI policy and governance infrastructure through cross-functional collaboration, authoring comprehensive internal and customer-facing use policies that established organizational accountability and risk controls for AI deployment. Spearheaded adoption of generative AI across the legal team, deploying purpose-built tools for contract drafting, commercial deal management, and regulatory monitoring.

• Charter MemberCurrent

  The L Suite (TechGC) · New York, United States

  Jul 2019 – Present

  We are an independent, invitation-only, peer community where General Counsels share knowledge / best practices and support each other throughout our lives and careers.

Education

• Cornell University — Bachelor’s Degree, Human Development and Family Studies, General
• The George Washington University Law School — JD, Law

Skills