Whitney Stefko

Associate Director and Senior Counsel at Ford Motor Company’s Global Policy and Legal Ops+ Team

With more than 15 years of experience in the legal, operations, and technology spaces, Whitney Stefko has been fortunate to work across a variety of entities with varying levels of maturity: startups, mid-size and large corporations, and law firms. This maturity spectrum has required both ground-up people, process and technology analysis and development as well as innovation and optimization in already existing functions.

Stefko has worked with Ford’s Office of General Counsel since 2018, first as an outside consultant, then as seconded counsel, and now in her full-time role as Associate Director and Senior Counsel. In this capacity, Stefko participated in the selection and hiring for — and now co-leads — the newly created Policy and Legal Ops+ team and function at Ford Motor Company, including technology initiatives and the use of emerging technologies like generative AI.

Stefko is also an Adjunct Law Professor at ASU School of Law, where she lectures on data, technology, and the evolution of both in the legal industry. In both her professional and personal life, Stefko is a big advocate of health and wellness. Outside of work, she spends most of her time adventuring with her husband, Chris, and son, Dexter, testing out new workout classes, learning, implementing personal growth, and traveling.

My Articles

Legal Operations Infrastructure: Maximizing Law Department Potential

With advances in AI and new business realities, it is increasingly important to develop a tech-enabled, continuously improving legal operations function. This article focuses on strategies for identifying KPIs, measuring ROI, and improving the law department’s work, with actionable examples for improving team performance.

Legal Operations Infrastructure: Foundational Elements that Drive Resource Optimization

Shiny new technologies and process improvements don’t guarantee success in achieving operational objectives. It’s the people — the individuals within the legal department and throughout the organization — who truly make the difference. Learn how to lead a people-centric legal operations function with insights from Ford Motor Company’s Whitney Stefko and New Era ADR’s Rich Lee.