A day in the life with a regulatory attorney at General

It’s no secret at General that our people make us possible. Each person on our team plays an important role in helping us achieve our goals while providing our customers with the best products and services. To showcase the unique and important work being done across General, we’ve published a series of stories about our amazing employees – A Day in the Life! Each month we’ll feature a different employee and give you a chance to see what a day in their work life looks like. Bonnie is a regulatory attorney with The General and hails from Nashville, Tennessee. Bonnie has been with The General for 3 years. Take a look at a day in the life of Bonnie.

Describe your work in one or two sentences. As a regulatory attorney, I wear many different hats. My primary function is to help business ventures move forward in compliance with federal and state laws.

What does a typical workday look like for you? No two days are the same, I love it! As a Shared Services employee, most of my work is with The General, but I also work with other operating companies under American Family Direct. I review and advise on most client-facing content, which involves a lot of collaboration with the marketing and UX teams. In addition to helping draft policy forms and approvals, researching and answering various legal questions as they pop up around the business, I advise the business on what it needs to comply with regulatory changes across the country.

I can be in meetings advising on various initiatives one day and bury my head in research and content reviews the next. It’s always changing and never dull!

What do you enjoy most about your job? I really enjoy working with people in different areas of the business, especially when projects are intertwined. I may create approval for the product team, but work with the UX team to get the relevant customer experience, and then review the relevant marketing material. It’s fun to see all the moving parts needed to successfully bring a project to life.

Some of my favorite projects have been working with various marketing teams at running companies. My college background is in advertising and public relations, so I am excited to combine my interests in marketing with my legal expertise. Although legal is sometimes seen as a “no” field, finding strategic solutions to move initiatives forward whenever possible is important to me. Having a passion and background in this field has helped me change that “no” industry mindset and instead offer workable solutions.

What is something you want people to know about your work? Sometimes a quick question doesn’t have a quick answer. Often, a good amount of legal research — sometimes in all 50 states — can fully advise an initiative. I always advise business partners to bring up the legislation early so we can advise on potential red flags and have time to do some research to move projects forward.

What skills do you need in your daily work? Time management is great with the ability to prioritize effectively. Problem-diagnosis, risk-assessment, research, communication and patience are the skills required in this job.

What drives you? A few things! My family drives me. I have an almost one year old little girl and it is important to me to show her that she can be anything she wants in life with hard work and dedication. I am also driven and motivated by success. I love seeing a project come to life and feel honored to be involved in projects that produce great results.

What do you like to do when you’re not working? I like to travel with my husband and daughter and we like to find good hikes wherever we go. We try to visit all the national parks and recently completed an amazing trip to Acadia National Park in Maine.

If you could give one piece of career advice, what would it be? Surround yourself with people who will rally your success, and be the person who will rally the success of others. There is a place for us all!

Interested in a career in general?

Come join our growing team! At General, our people make us possible. We are looking for bold thinkers and passionate individuals who share our goal of bringing affordable, quality insurance to people across the country. Our vision affects how we deliver on our promises to our customers, our communities and each other.

We pride ourselves on providing quality insurance and excellent service. With your invaluable skills and talents, you can help us continue to shape the insurance industry, as we have been doing since 1963.

If this sounds like a one-of-a-kind opportunity for you, we want to hear from you.