New England Biz Law Update
Fresh out of law school, Michele S. Gatto worked as a staff attorney for a Massachusetts insurance company, and like many young lawyers focused on discrete legal projects. Over the years, Gatto has broadened her skill set, developing business acumen and skills to accompany her legal training.
Gatto now oversees much of the day-to-day business operations of National Life Group, a financial services company based in Montpelier, Vt., in addition to heading its legal department.
On a stunningly perfect spring day in Vermont, Gatto recently shared her thoughts on her career experiences and living in Vermont.
Q: Michele, you have a very broad role here at National Life. Can you tell me about it?
Gatto: I came to National Life in 1999 as senior vice president and general counsel, and then was promoted to executive vice president corporate services four years later. I am now responsible for all of the administrative areas – law, human resources, compliance, corporate secretary, policy forms, facilities, building security. I also oversee general services, which includes purchasing, the print shop, mail center, and records management. I really function as the chief administrative officer.
Q: Isn’t it unusual for a lawyer to have such broad management responsibilities? What personal attributes and experiences prepared you for this role?
Gatto: My first job out of law school was at The Paul Revere Corporation in Worcester, Mass., now merged with UNUM-Provident Corporation. I worked on contracts, compliance, litigation, and employment law. After Paul Revere went public, I was asked to take on the securities work. When the company later merged with Provident, I coordinated the legal aspects of the sale. My experience there continued to be substantively very broad.
The strategic planning function at my next position – vice president and general counsel at Massachusetts Casualty Insurance Company in Boston – was also important in preparing me for my current role. We were asked by our parent – Sun Life Financial – to do a strategic plan and the chief operating officer asked me to lead the initiative. We involved all the employees in articulating the mission and vision of the organization. We did a competitive analysis and a SWOT (strengths-weakness-opportunities-threats) assessment, and also looked at demographic and workforce data. We executed the plan – creating and carrying out action items every week. The company had not been profitable for about 10 years, but we were able to turn it around before it was sold. This experience helped me appreciate the importance of focusing on where we wanted to go, figuring out how to get there, and including as many people as possible in the process.
Q: What did you find when you arrived at National Life, and what changes did you make?
Gatto: National Life’s law department has had highly skilled lawyers. I tried to focus the team on how they could add even more value to the company. Early on, the team discussed the department’s mission and vision. I helped the lawyers to set goals for the year, and met with them quarterly to review the status of goals.
We developed a client feedback form to determine how clients viewed the lawyers in terms of approachability, turnaround time, accessibility, and whether their advice was practical and useful. Lawyers who can translate “legalese” into practical advice are highly valued.
Q: What changes have there been in financial services, and have they affected your work?
Gatto: There has been increasingly more regulation, consolidation, and speed of communication. Increased regulation affects work flow, as well as talent recruitment and skill development of staff. Consolidation can enable companies to operate with leaner margins in a competitive environment. Smaller companies, however, can be more agile and have a higher touch on the customer end.
Q: What is the effect of being in Vermont?
Gatto: We benefit from access to a well-educated work force with a strong work ethic. Quality of life is high. We have stunning landscapes – the Green Mountains, the Adirondacks, Lake Champlain. We have excellent medical facilities, low crime, moderate real estate prices, and a rich cultural environment. Many well-known figures have homes in Vermont. The recently deceased Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Harvard Professor John Kenneth Galbraith both had homes not far from here. We are successful in recruiting people from New York, Boston and other cities. People either love it here or they don’t.
Q: Any advice to aspiring in-house counsel?
Gatto: Gaining broad substantive legal knowledge, as well as management experience, and learning as much as possible about business in general, and the company’s business specifically were instrumental in helping me develop from an individual contributor to a broader role. 11 Being able to speak the language of business enhances legal skills in a corporate setting.
Jane Sender is president of Sender Legal Search, which specializes in high level in-house placements in New England. She can be reached at www.jslegalsearch.com.
