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Tara Waters
Partner @ Ashurst - Chief Digital Officer - Head of Ashurst Advance Digital
Professional Background
Tara Waters is a dynamic technologist-turned-lawyer-turned-digital transformation evangelist, blending extensive expertise in technology and law to promote growth and innovation in a rapidly evolving digital economy. With over 21 years of experience, Tara has successfully managed complex projects across various disciplines and industries, making meaningful contributions at every level from entry-level positions to executive leadership. Her journey has uniquely positioned her at the intersection of law and technology, and she leverages this experience to drive impactful change within organizations.
Currently, Tara serves as the first Chief Digital Officer at Ashurst, a prestigious global law firm, where she plays a pivotal role in defining and implementing the firm's digital transformation strategy. This role involves overseeing the delivery of essential digital capabilities that will empower Ashurst to thrive not just today but for the next 200 years. In addition to her chief role in digital transformation, Tara leads Ashurst Advance Digital, the technology arm of Ashurst Advance, which focuses on executing innovative strategies that meet the evolving needs of the legal industry.
Continuing to practice as a corporate and finance lawyer since 2009, Tara plays an instrumental role in advising high-growth companies and venture capital investors. She is the founder of Ashurst's High Growth & VC team in Europe, demonstrating her commitment to enabling emerging businesses to achieve their potential. Furthermore, her expertise extends to co-heading the firm's FinTech team and actively leading their Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and crypto assets practice, along with contributing to the operation of the Fintech Legal Labs. These initiatives foster collaboration and innovation within the ever-growing FinTech sector, aligning legal practices with technological advancements.
Education and Achievements
Tara's educational background is a testament to her dedication to her craft and her pursuit of excellence. She holds a Juris Doctor in Intellectual Property, Entertainment, and Corporate Law from Fordham University School of Law. Additionally, she obtained a Master of Laws in European Law with distinction from Université Panthéon Assas (Paris II), indicating her strong foundation in legal principles and practices across different jurisdictions. Beyond her legal qualifications, Tara completed a Bachelor of Science, graduating magna cum laude from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication, which provided her with a solid basis in technology and digital media.
Tara’s thirst for knowledge continued with advanced training, participating in the Chief Digital Officer Program at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business and studying the Executive Programme, Strategy in the Age of Digital Disruption at INSEAD. These programs have equipped her with crucial insights into strategic approaches and best practices in navigating the complexities of digital transformation in various sectors.
Achievements
Throughout her impressive career trajectory, Tara has garnered numerous accomplishments that underscore her influence and expertise in both the technical and legal domains. Her ability to architect, develop, and manage digital solutions during her seven years in the new media and IT industries in New York City has enriched her understanding of the technology landscape. Moreover, she has a keen interest and specialization in emerging fields such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), fintech, digital assets, and lawtech.
As a respected member of several legal and industry organizations, Tara continues to contribute her insights and experiences. Her previous roles include being a Partner at Ashurst, and she has held senior associate positions at renowned firms such as Simmons & Simmons and Allen & Overy LLP, enhancing her legal acumen and professional network. Furthermore, Tara has served as a mentor at Techstars, where she cultivated the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.
Tara’s contributions extend beyond the confines of traditional law practice. As a thought leader in the field, she engages in discussions about the intersection of law and technology, particularly focusing on how legal practices can evolve to accommodate the rapid advancements in digital transformation. She is consistently regarded as a steward of innovation, driving the adoption of digital solutions that enhance legal service delivery and client engagement.
Through her extensive experience working with diverse stakeholders, including investment bankers, in-house counsel, executives, and C-level officers of both startups and FTSE 100 companies, Tara has built a reputation for her ability to navigate complex transactions seamlessly. Her strategic approach to corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and digital services has positioned her as a go-to expert in these fields.
In summary, Tara Waters is a trailblazer in the legal and technology sectors. Her unique journey, rich in diverse experiences and impressive qualifications, enables her to lead initiatives that not only meet the current demands of the marketplace but also anticipate future needs. As she continues to influence the trajectory of digital transformation at Ashurst and beyond, Tara remains committed to fostering innovation, collaboration, and success within the global legal community.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.