Lexi Lutz on legal leadership and being named an ABA On The Rise honoree

We’re pleased to share that our General Counsel, Lexi Lutz has been named among the American Bar Association’s On The Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers of 2026, a recognition celebrating early-career lawyers demonstrating achievement, leadership, innovation and service to the profession and their communities.

For Lexi, this recognition is less about a single milestone and more about a consistent thread running through her career: stepping into problems and working to improve them from within.

We sat down with Lexi to get her view on what the honor represents and how her work across the legal profession, in-house leadership and her nonprofit initiative intersect.

A recognition across profession, community and impact

The ABA’s On the Rise list recognizes young lawyers making an impact across their careers, communities and within the Association itself. For Lexi, it reflects years of engagement on all three fronts.

“I’m really fortunate to have been honored on this list, I’ve been involved with the American Bar Association since I was in law school. Since the ABA is the regulating body that governs the legal profession in the United States, I figured what better way to try and make an impact in the profession that I’m about to enter than getting involved win them.”

Since her early involvement with the ABA in law school, Lexi has remained deeply active within the organization’s Young Lawyers Division, taking on leadership roles including Director of Professional Development and Managing Director of Administration.

“And now I’m just trying to find my place in the “big ABA”.”

Alongside her professional and ABA work, Lexi also highlights her community impact through Opt-Inspire, a non-profit focused on protecting vulnerable populations from scams in an increasingly AI-driven world.

No single defining moment, but a consistent mindset

When asked about the achievement she’s most proud of, Lexi didn’t point to a single milestone: “I honestly don’t think there’s one specific moment.”

Instead, she describes a consistent approach that’s shaped her career: a willingness to identify problems and step into them directly.

“The common thread is that if I see a problem with something or I see something that can be improved, I just want to jump in and try to fix it from the inside.”

That mindset shows up across her roles. In her work with the ABA, she focuses on improving the profession from within. At Summize, she sees the opportunity to improve how in-house legal teams operate, and through Opt-Inspire, she moved from frustration to action.

“With Summize, I see that there’s an opportunity for in-house lawyers to constantly improve their ways of working. With Opt-Inspire, I saw a problem that was making me angry. So instead of just observing from the sidelines, I went ahead and started the non-profit.”

From legal gatekeeper to strategic business partner

For Lexi, the evolution of AI isn’t just changing how legal teams work, but what General Counsels are expected to bring to the business.

“I think it’s changed because GCs aren’t just trying to identify, evaluate and mitigate risk anymore. The traditional GC five to ten years ago was focused on protecting the company and making sure the business took the least risky path.”

Today, she believes the role is becoming far more strategic.

“GCs are able to step out of that box of just being an advisor on risk and become a strategic advisory to the business, so it can take risks it might not otherwise take.”

AI is helping accelerate that shift by taking repetitive work off lawyers’ plates and making legal knowledge more accessible across organizations.

“It’s creating the biggest opportunities in the work that lawyers don’t necessarily enjoy the most. There’s a lot of time spent doing repetitive tasks that can now be delegated to AI.”

But while technology can improve efficiency, she believes it won’t replace what makes lawyers valuable.

“There definitely needs to be human review for any output. The human aspect will become even more important in building relationships and allowing lawyers to be fully present. They’ll have more time to actually think and strategically advise.”

Read more about Lexi’s thoughts on being a creative lawyer in the age of AI here.

Advice for the next generation of legal leaders

For aspiring General Counsels, Lexi’s advice centers on engagement beyond the job description, and she credits a lot of her own trajectory to a willingness to say yes to opportunities outside her day-to-day role.

“I say yes to the community service project, I say yes to the pro bono project because that’s what I enjoy.”

That broader engagement, she believes, has a compounding effect over time.

“Anything in addition to that will only lead you to a path that is the right path for you and that aligns with your values and eventually get you to a position that’s the perfect fit for you.”

Looking back, Lexi highlighted one key lesson: the skills that get you to one stage in your career are not always the ones that take you to the next.

“You have to keep learning, growing and identifying where you need to improve. It’s so important to be a lifelong learner. Shoot for 1% every day.”

Find out more about the ABA’s On The Rise list here, and for more insights on legal tech and the role of the lawyer, connect with Lexi on LinkedIn.