Driving America Forward with Laura McAdams
“I do everything I can to combine high-standard compliance with a deep understanding of our business goals, in order to help Zum reach more families and scale our impact.”
Laura McAdams
Deputy General Counsel
Zum
Laura McAdams is Deputy General Counsel at Zum. Before joining, she was a trial attorney for a decade before joining the mobility industry in house, working for both Uber and Cruise. As a mother, Laura loves working at the intersection of transportation and young children, and brings personal and professional expertise to the job.
In your role at Zum, how do you think about innovation?
I think innovation is all about a shift in perspective.
In any legal role, it’s easy to simply put on a legal hat and say, “No, you can’t do that and there’s no way around it.” Instead, I see my role as Deputy General Counsel as being a strategic partner in Zum’s growth, and finding ways to scale efficiently and legally.
In my role, I do my best to shift my perspective, and be agile and forward-thinking. Rather than applying legal principles in a vacuum, I align my work with our broader mission. I do everything I can to combine high-standard compliance with a deep understanding of our business goals, in order to help Zum reach more families and scale our impact.
It sounds small, but I think that innovative shift in perspective makes a big difference.
From your perspective, at a company-wide level, how is Zum driving American innovation forward?
If I’m innovating by shifting my perspective in my role, Zum is doing it at the company-wide level.
I believe our company is leading the field because we are redefining what student transportation can be. We don’t just look at each hurdle individually—we look at things from multiple angles at once, for example, through the lenses of logistics, technology, and sustainability.
I try to bring that kind of holistic approach to my own work, and I know Zum is doing the same thing. It’s what empowers me to use our legal strategy as a driver for growth, and it’s why our company is greater than the sum of its parts.
When you think of the future, what role do children/the next generation play, and how can we set them up for success?
At sixteen, I moved to this country with a dream sparked not by a textbook, but by a screen. Watching Boston Legal, I didn’t just see lawyers. Instead, I saw a world where advocacy and strategy could serve as an inspiration. That one moment of exposure ignited my spark and changed my entire trajectory.
I believe our greatest responsibility is to pass that spark on. By showing students the intersection of technology, law, and sustainability, we aren’t just transporting them or just providing a service. We are expanding their horizon of what is possible and we are providing them with that potential spark to dream bigger and to build a future we haven’t even imagined yet.