Greg Lambert sits down with Shawn Gross, Director of Pricing and Legal Project Management at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete and Co-Chair of LVN’s Education Committee. With a background in finance, law, and legal operations, Shawn has played a key role in shaping LVN’s educational programming. In this interview, he shares his journey into legal pricing and project management and discusses what’s ahead for LVN’s education initiatives. Tune in for insights on the future of legal pricing and project management, the value of collaboration in the LVN community, and how LVN continues to innovate educational opportunities for legal professionals.
Greg Lambert: I'm Greg Lambert, the editor of the LVN newsletter, and this month we are shining our Spotlight on one of the co-chairs of the LVN Education Committee—Shawn Gross. Shawn is the Director of Pricing and Legal Project Management at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete in Atlanta, Georgia.
I was an old King & Spalding alum, so I’ve been to Atlanta many times. Shawn, thank you very much for letting us shine the spotlight on you.
Shawn Gross: Absolutely, Greg. I appreciate it.
Greg Lambert: So, I want to start by getting some background on you. How did you end up in legal operations, and what are some things you find rewarding about the work?
Shawn Gross: Well, I ended up here in kind of a roundabout way. I got a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and a law degree, but I didn’t really want to do either one exclusively—so I never practiced law.
I actually got into pricing at a prior firm many years ago—before pricing was even recognized as a profession. Back then, the firm didn’t even have a marketing department yet.
One day, the CFO needed help with a proposal and couldn’t put it together, so I ran the numbers. After that, every proposal started coming my way. Then, a young partner had a proposal to submit, and he had never done one before. So they said, “Hey, can you help him out?” I ended up helping him write the proposal as well as price it.
I was thinking about it earlier, and I’m pretty sure I used Microsoft Publisher to format it! From there, I started helping write all the proposals. Luckily, once we got a marketing team, I didn’t have to write them all anymore and could focus on pricing.
Now, my law and finance background helps me translate a lot of the work I do in pricing and legal project management (LPM). It all ended up coming together.
Greg Lambert: As soon as you said Microsoft Publisher, I immediately thought of those trifold pamphlets we used to make.
Shawn Gross: Yep! That’s exactly what it was meant for—printing out physical materials. It feels like forever ago.
Greg Lambert: That’s a story as old as time—no good deed goes unpunished. You do something well, and suddenly, it becomes your job. So, what’s one of the things you find really rewarding about your work?
Shawn Gross: For most of us in any kind of service-oriented role, we genuinely enjoy helping people.
I’ve said this so many times, but when someone replies to an email with “Hey, this was really helpful”, or tells you on the phone that you made something easier for them—that’s a great feeling.
I also love new challenges. I tend to gravitate toward shiny new problems that need solving. And on the LPM side, it drives me nuts when things aren’t working as efficiently as they should. I’ll take on things that technically aren’t part of my role just because I see that they need fixing.
Greg Lambert: Sounds like you’ve got the right personality for this type of work. Let’s switch gears a little—tell us what you enjoy doing outside of work.
Shawn Gross: Well, like we talked about earlier, back in law school, I was a club DJ—which probably explains why my grades weren’t the best, but I had a great time!
I’ve always been into music, and I still do it part-time. I even built out a music studio in my garage. That was a DIY project of its own, but now, whenever I have free time on the weekends or in the evenings, I love going down there to write and record music.
It’s funny—I can check my resting heart rate, and when I’m in the studio, it actually drops.
Greg Lambert: Wow! That’s a great hobby—one that lowers your heart rate instead of raising it. But I bet when you see the credit card bill for new music equipment, that’s when it spikes again!
Shawn Gross: Haha, nope! I’ve had all my equipment for a long time—I haven’t bought anything in ages.
Greg Lambert: Good plan! Now, let’s bring it back to LVN. You’re one of the co-chairs of the Education Committee—so what insights can you share about LVN’s programming this year?
Shawn Gross: We’re in the process of putting together our new committee for the year. Elizabeth and I have been reaching out to both returning and new members.
One thing we always focus on—and will continue to prioritize—is figuring out what the LVN community wants to learn about.
This year, we’re also exploring new formats for educational programming. We don’t know exactly how it will take shape yet, but we’re thinking about different ways to present content based on the topic.
Another big focus this year is better integrating our work with LVNx. There’s already great programming at LVNx, and we’ve always taken strong proposal submissions that didn’t fit into the conference and turned them into webinars or standalone sessions. We’re looking for more ways to tie content from LVNx into our education initiatives.
Greg Lambert: That makes a lot of sense. For LVN members who want to get involved, what advice do you have for them?
Shawn Gross: Raise your hand! That’s the first step.
I’ve been part of this community since the very first P3 Conference, and I remember looking around and thinking, “Wow, there are a lot of people who do this.”
This is still a developing profession in the legal industry, and getting involved in LVN gives you access to new ideas, strong relationships, and a network of professionals you wouldn’t normally meet in your daily work.
Greg Lambert: That’s a great perspective. What trends are you seeing in legal education right now?
Shawn Gross: One ongoing discussion is how to keep up with changing technology. And yes, we made it 11 minutes into this conversation before mentioning AI—which is a win in my book!
Beyond that, I think there’s an opportunity to professionalize legal operations even further.
There are already certifications for pricing, legal project management, and other disciplines, but we could do more to create structured learning paths.
It’s similar to continuing legal education (CLE) for attorneys. Lawyers have to complete CLE credits every year—should legal ops professionals have something like that? Maybe not yet, but having a consistent way to build and refine skills would be valuable.
Most of us in this space are lifelong learners—we’re always asking, “What else should I know? What am I missing?” I think that demand for structured learning will continue to grow.
Greg Lambert: Absolutely. We’re surrounded by people who are constantly learning and evolving. Well, Shawn Gross, thank you very much for letting us shine the spotlight on you this month.
Shawn Gross: Thank you, Greg! I appreciate it.
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