The Legal Director

The Legal Director  (TLD) is a fully regulated law firm that provides businesses with experienced, high-calibre lawyers on a fractional or flexible basis. 

As part of TLD I work with SMEs as a fractional/part time General Counsel advising on all areas of business law including:
- Commercial Law and Contracts (including customer, supplier and distributor agreements)
- Technology agreements (waterfall/agile/SaaS)
- NDAs & Confidentiality Agreements
- Crisis Management
-Cyber security (readiness and breaches)
- Data protection
- Competition and Anti-trust issues
- Dispute resolution
- Risk Management

Client Legal Director

Dominant Information Solutions Canada (DISC) Inc

Dominant Information Solutions Canada Inc (DISC) is a niche provider of security consulting service. We service industry and government clients by providing services that include: developing cyber security programs, designing and engineering cyber security and IT solutions, breach response services, and providing risk assessment and management services. DISC works with clients to examine new and innovative technologies from the Canada and overseas to ensure customers get an optimal return on investment from their capability. 

Since 2019, DISC has been a leading global innovator in niche satellite engineering and security, receiving multiple research grants for methods to improve the health and operational success of satellites.

DISC also specializes in providing Subject Matter Expert advice to court cases, and has provided court opinions in high profile cases in Canada such as the class action suites against Lifelabs, Capital One, and Facebook.

General Counsel

Alana Tart Coaching

Certified coach (ICF-ACC, CPCC, NARM), mindfulness teacher (BAMBA, Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body) with a background in psychology working with clients at inflection points (including when quietly asking: “is this still what I want?”).

This work is practical, strategic, and deeply human, helping you reconnect with clarity, capacity, and a sense of meaning that fits from the inside out.

Coaching & Mindfulness (Individual or Group, inc MBSR)

The Mentor Well

The Mentor Well aims to provide teens and young adults with essential life skills, emotional support, and personal growth opportunities through one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, and various online courses. We focus on fostering long-term development and mental wellness in an increasingly complex world, equipping young individuals to navigate their futures confidently.

COO, General Counsel, Mentor

Philip Morris International

Senior Counsel

Ascential Plc

Ascential is a specialist, global, publicly listed information company that helps the world’s most ambitious businesses (e.g. P&G, Unilever, Nestle, gsk, Bayer, Philips, hp) win in the digital economy by providing business-critical intelligence, world-class events and advice to enable smart decision-making for businesses. It operates from 39 offices around the world serving customers in over 150 countries. Its brands include Edge, Flywheel, WGSN, Medialink, Cannes Lions and Money 2020.

Legal Director (Group) at Ascential

Ooyala (acquired Videoplaza)

A global online video platform, offering best-of-breed online video analytics and monetization solutions that boost revenues from video. Part of Telstra Corporation Limited from 2014 until 2018.

Senior Corporate Counsel (responsible for EMEA)

Videoplaza (acquired by Ooyala)

Videoplaza's mission was to empower broadcasters and video publishers to build profitable and sustainable businesses in the internet-delivered TV world. More than 50% of the broadcasters in Europe run their advertising businesses on Videoplaza's flagship offering Karbon (Videoplaza’s customers include M6 (France) and IP Deutschland (Germany), TV4 (Sweden), Mediaset (Spain), STV (U.K.), MediaCorp (Asia), Sony Entertainment India and Singapore's Mediacorp). The technology, built for video, is device agnostic and empowers publishers to trade across sales channels, maximising the value of their audiences. Videoplaza's services were offered globally and the company had local teams across Europe and Asia.

Head of Legal and Company Secretary

Latham & Watkins

An integrated, multinational full-service law that provides strategic and innovative legal solutions to clients' complex business and legal challenges.

Associate

Virgin Media

The first "quadruple-play" media company in the United Kingdom, offering television, internet, mobile phone and fixed-line telephone services. It had ~5M customers in 2012 and revenue of £4.1B. Now part of Liberty Global.

Secondee from Latham & Watkins- Associate Counsel (Regulatory and Digital Entertainment)

Executive Coach | Mindfulness teacher | General Counsel (ex BigLaw, ex Fortune 100) | Outdoor enthusiast

Careers are shaped by hidden dynamics: unspoken rules, blind spots, reactive patterns. They influence decisions and outcomes, often without us realizing it.

I work with professionals at inflection points in their careers and lives. Most come to me for one of three reasons:

✨ They’re facing huge change and uncertainty and want someone in their corner who understands.

✨ They don’t know what they want and are looking for clarity about their next steps.

✨ They’re ready to create more meaningful impact.

Beneath each of these challenges are the same hidden dynamics, the patterns that leave people feeling like they’ve lost the map, unable to see what’s really driving their choices or holding them back.

Maybe you’ve been putting off reaching out to a coach. I did the same. Self-sufficiency works… until it doesn’t. (If I’m honest, it cost me professionally. Years.)

Maybe you’re not even sure coaching would help. Or hardest of all, like many of my clients, you’re not sure what you want anymore, and you’re starting to wonder if you ever really did.

As a certified coach (ICF-ACC, CPCC, NARM), mindfulness teacher, and with my background in psychology and law (I am still also a General Counsel), I help clients rewire their brain and nervous system, align with their values and who they are becoming, and build the self-awareness to not only recognize but confidently overcome or use the hidden dynamics to intentionally shape their lives and careers.

I offer private coaching, practical tools and group classes.

Book a call: tidycal.com/alanatart

This is finance lawyer Naomi Pilula. She posts on IG

Without stopping yourself or thinking too deeply answer: what do you think of her?

In response to this selfie the internet told her she wasn’t pretty enough to be there

Before you rush to distance yourself from that, pause

These kinds of judgments occur all the time and shape careers

But here’s the deeper truth: 
 
While appearances may open doors, they do not determine the depth of our influence
 
Naomi did not delete the selfie, shrink or defend herself
 
She instead leaned into her story and reframed conversation from how other’s labelled her to how she defined herself
 
Influence and impact come from framing reality in a way that others must then navigate 
 
Here is how Naomi teaches us how to do that:
 
1️⃣ Recognize and accept what happens
 ↳ Instead of denying bias or condemning others, Naomi recognized its sting with honesty and grace

2️⃣ Control what you can: presence.
 ↳ She paused, regulated and showed up on video as calm, articulate, confident, inspiring 

3️⃣ Build what lasts: credibility and alliances.
 ↳ By reframing the conversation, she gained allies and grew her IG following 30x

What do you think of Naomi now?

Warmly,

Alana

--
Naomi's IG: @Naomi.pilula

Follow or DM Alana Tart for more on navigating the hidden dynamics that shape careers

Alana Tart

Values driven leaders & high achievers turn to me for the hidden dynamics that make or break careers | Coach, Teacher, Trusted Advisor | Also a General Counsel (ex Fortune 100, ex BigLaw) | Soft heart, steel spine.

We’ve been taught to be nice 

But high emotional intelligence asks something deeper, as do the dynamics that actually shape work environments

Nice is agreeable, accommodating, easy to work with
It keeps the peace.

Kindness is emotional intelligence in action: 
Grounded, boundaried, and deeply intentional.

Niceness is people pleasing
Kindness transforms companies, careers, and lives

Here’s how kind people truly set themselves apart:

Likeability
↳ Nice people seek to be liked
↳ Kind people build trust and respect

Tough Conversations
↳ Nice people avoid hard conversations
↳ Kind people lean into them with care

Feedback
↳ Nice people give praise to keep the peace
↳ Kind people offer honest feedback that supports growth

Boundaries
↳ Nice people say yes to avoid guilt
↳ Kind people set clear, respectful boundaries

Self-Care & Wellbeing
↳ Nice people overextend to prove worth
↳ Kind people protect energy to stay present

Accountability
↳ Nice people ignore issues to avoid conflict
↳ Kind people address behavior to protect trust

Emotional Awareness
↳ Nice people suppress emotions to appear calm
↳ Kind people stay present with emotion, not ruled by it

Decision-Making
↳ Nice people choose comfort over clarity
↳ Kind people make values-aligned decisions

Your power isn't in being nice. 

It's in being deliberately, unapologetically kind. 

Nice keeps the peace. Kind protects what matters. It leads to influence, credibility and visibility.

In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Warmly,

Alana

--
DM me for more ways to navigate the hidden dynamics that shape careers

Here’s what no one tells you about starting a new job
 
(including as a law firm trainee, articling student, or new associate)
 
If you’re starting a new role this week (like 3 of my coaching clients): congratulations!
 
And if you are just entering my profession (law) a special congrats. You’ve already done something hard
 
You’ve probably heard a lot of well-meaning advice, maybe read a stack of leadership books, and arrived with big ideas for how you’ll show up
 
Here’s the hardest truth:
 
Most leadership advice describes what makes a healthy organization
 
But organizations don’t always reward those behaviours
 
Why? Because they’re:
→ Hierarchical: advancement often depends on pleasing those above you
→ Risk-averse: results and predictability matter more than bold experiments
→ Scarcity-driven and competitive: promotions, recognition, and airtime are limited
 
That can sound bleak. But don’t lose heart. 
 
Organizations are also full of inspiring people and surprising opportunities. 
 
You just need to play the game with clarity.
 
Here are 5 rules that will serve you anywhere:
 
1️⃣ Relationships, relationships, relationships
↳ Your boss, allies, connectors, even skeptics: they shape your opportunities and your reputation.
 
2️⃣ Early labels stick
↳ First impressions harden fast. Show up as confident, competent, collaborative from day one.
 
3️⃣ Perception > reality
↳ It’s not just what you do but what people believe you do. Make your work visible and memorable.
 
4️⃣ Stay grounded
↳ New jobs are stressful. Regulate before you respond to protect your credibility.
 
5️⃣ Establish internal boundaries
↳ Don’t overextend. Pacing yourself is part of sustaining your career.
 
If you want more on how to not just survive but thrive, DM me, Alana Tart for a First 90 Days plan.

And if this is your first day in a law firm, William Peake's post is a must read.

Where I grew up, if you ran out of sugar, butter, or eggs, you didn’t rush to the shops, you went to a neighbour’s house. And that stick of butter often turned into a carpool, the name of a good dentist, or news about swimming lessons. 

I live in a village where that still happens. Neighbours watch each other’s kids, pitch in when there is an emergency, and last weekend I watched many of them perform in a local concert.
 
At work it’s easy to forget the importance of that stick of butter. 

We can spend all our time delivering, producing, proving our competency and miss the power of the small, ordinary exchanges that build real connection:

💠 The hallway chats where you slow down and really listen instead of rushing to the next meeting.

💠Sharing knowledge freely, offering support, or celebrating a small win.

💠Checking in with someone with no agenda.

Connection is not a distraction from the work, it’s what makes the work thrive. When we stop over-indexing on output alone and intentionally invest in each other, it’s amazing how much more actually gets done.

Mice don’t menstruate

And yet they’re the gold standard for studying women’s health.

Let that sink in

Female mice reabsorb their uterine lining. 

Which means that when it comes to understanding hormonal health, menopause, or anything tied to the female cycle, we’re starting from a model that doesn’t apply.

As a result, women’s lived realities aren’t fully represented in science, medicine, policy, or in our workplaces.

We don’t even like to say the word menopause. It’s treated as a private issue, not an organizational one.

Yet symptoms include brain fog, reduced executive function, sleep disruption, anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation

All impact peak performance.

And menopause often arrives in our 40s and 50s, just when promotions, leadership opportunities, and influence are on the line. 

Too many women reduce hours, decline advancement, face performance scrutiny, or exit altogether.

We need better models, in research and in careers.

It starts with posts like this: normalizing what happens.

Because when we get the research model right, we get the medicine right.

And when we get the career model right, we get leadership right.

Which is better for all of us.

-- 
Follow me (Alana Tart) more hidden dynamics that make or break careers.

When my grandfather joined the executive team of one of Canada’s largest companies, they interviewed my grandmother. Today that seems intrusive. But they understood something we like to deny: 

Work and home are not separate.

When home is strong, you can take risks at work and make hard choices.

A shaky home can limit you (give yourself so much grace).

I am fortunate to have a partner who shares the load.

(Many women return home to a “second shift.”)

Today I changed my schedule to make sure he had the support he needed.

Because your rock needs a rock.

If you are fortunate enough to have one, don’t forget that truth.

Warmly,

Alana

Picture of my rock, hiking with our poodle (he values his privacy)

I turned down General Counsel roles for years

It was one of my best career moves

All I saw was the grind: fighting for relevance, defending my team’s value, being told to do more with less

In so many organizations, Heads of Legal and GCs lead teams that are overloaded, stretched too thin, and buried in tasks that don’t reflect the real value Legal can bring. 

It felt uninspiring and overwhelming. So I did specialist roles for a few years.

Now I’m back doing GC work and it feels completely different.

And let me be honest: if you’re reading this while you’re overwhelmed and hanging on by a thread, I get it. 
 
I’ve been there. It’s not weakness. It’s just the body’s way of saying something has to change.

My shift came when I understood my dysregulation patterns and learnt to steady myself instead. 

Frustration and overwhelm kill influence, calm builds it.

I stopped fighting for scraps and started reshaping the narrative. 

How?

1/ Stop accepting others labels (for legal this is “cost centre”)

2/ Build alliances: you need others with influence to fight for you

3/ Tell a different story: wins and avoided disasters must be visible

Too many leaders, and their teams, are exhausted, undervalued, and questioning their impact.

But you don’t have to stay stuck there. There’s a way forward.

You don’t have to settle for survival.

You can establish yourself so clearly that survival isn’t even in question.

Warmly,

Alana

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is amazing to be with people who live this truth.

I’m grateful to have Scarlett Roberts in my life and for her visit to Switzerland.

Scarlett is Earth, Water, Air, and Fire all in one. Electrifying.

When she was fully immersed in the dance world, it didn’t know what to do with that. She was often told she was “too much.”

So she toned it down. She became precise, technically competent, polished.

And she not only lost premier roles, she lost herself.

If you follow her on LinkedIn, you’ll know she’s open about this journey.

About what happens when you let yourself be shaped into something else.

But also about what happens when you finally embrace all of you and bring all of you.

Here is what we sometimes miss: 

Being your whole self doesn’t mean putting every part of you on stage all the time.

It means knowing what to bring forward when, which parts take the spotlight as the lead, and which step back to support like an ensemble.

That is the key to living Emerson’s quote. 

Because as much as the world may tell you to tone down or edit or change yourself… what it actually needs is you.

Unpopular opinion: calling people “toxic” is lazy

And it strips you of your power

Here’s the truth: most people behave the way they’re incentivized to behave

At work, influence doesn’t go to the smartest person
 
It goes to the person who controls the story

I've worked with department heads whose position depended on getting projects approved

One saw Legal as a blocker

So he’d say: “Legal’s role is to be overly cautious.”

And he’d backtrack on agreements my team thought were settled.

The impact? My team were left in a fog

They questioned themselves. Was it misremembering? A mess up?

That fog eats at you. It turns into self-doubt, overthinking, and shame.

But labelling someone like that “toxic” doesn’t help

You don’t need another label.
 
You need clarity

Once you understand how influence works in your organization, you stop blaming yourself

You realize: It’s not me. It’s the dynamics

And the moment you see that, you get your power back

Because you can choose how to respond
 
With integrity. With agency. With confidence.

Warmly,

Alana

The problem isn’t you

The real work challenges come from the unspoken rules and power dynamics we’re rarely taught to see

When we miss them, we give away our power

Years ago, I took part in Google’s I Am Remarkable program: a fantastic workshop designed to help people celebrate their achievements

I could list plenty (the point was not to be modest)

And then the penny dropped: none of them were valued in my department

Here’s the hard truth: the work on habits, mindset shifts, and personal growth only matter if understand how your organization really works

Once you see how decisions are made, how alliances form, how influence flows, everything changes

You start navigating the real game, and playing it on your terms

(For me, that meant designing my exit, because my values were not aligned.)

You stop giving away your power
 
You step into it, with clarity and intention

Because you are not the problem

The problem is the hidden systems that were never designed to explain themselves.

Warmly,

Alana

--
Follow me (Alana Tart) for the hidden dynamics that make or break careers.

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