The Agency Growth Podcast Every Legal Mistake Your Agency Is Making (Ft. Sharon Toerek w/ Legal + Creative) | Episode 200
Apr 3, 2026
Sharon Toerek, an attorney who helps agencies with IP, contracts, compliance, and AI risk. She highlights the three pillars of agency protection: intellectual property, solid contracts, and regulatory compliance. The conversation covers hidden AI pitfalls around prompts and outputs. Practical fixes include clearer contract clauses, license tracking, and policies to prevent costly legal surprises.
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Treat Legal As Three Core Agency Functions
- Do treat agency legal work as three core areas: IP protection/monetization, contracts, and regulatory compliance (privacy/FTC) with AI risk management layered on top.
- Sharon Toerek frames these as the "three legs of the stool" and uses them to prioritize agency legal investments and services.
Audit AI Inputs And Outputs Immediately
- Do audit AI risks in two buckets: inputs (what your team feeds into LLMs) and outputs (what LLMs generate and you publish).
- Sharon warns freelancers' prompts can leak embargoed strategy into training data and brands could be exposed.
Ask Clients About Their AI Policies First
- Do ask every client about their AI policies and translate those rules to employees, contractors, and vendors before work starts.
- Sharon stresses documenting permitted platforms, prohibited inputs, and use cases to avoid confidentiality breaches.