Legal

Name Kristin
Education Indiana University – Bloomington (B.A. Afro-American Studies, with honors and Criminal Justice 1996)
University of Wisconsin Law School – Madison (J.D. 1999)
Department/Concise Job Description/Years Spent at State Farm Corporate Law Department/Counsel Litigation Support Section / 3 years
Location Illinois
Career Path Office of the Indiana Attorney General ( Deputy Attorney General 1999 – 2000), City of Indianapolis Office of Corporate Counsel( Assistant Corporation Counsel / Community City Prosecutor 2000 – 2004), Baker and Daniels LLP ( Legal Recruiting Administrator 2004 – 2006), State Farm Claim Litigation Counsel Office Indianapolis, IN (Attorney 2006-2007).

After completing law school, I went to work in the public sector.  I knew I wanted to work “for the people” and help others.  I never thought I could find that level of satisfaction by working for a large corporation like State Farm. However, I was wrong.  I help others everyday and had the opportunity to make an impact very early in my career. In fact, shortly following my transfer from the Great Lakes Zone to Corporate I noticed an issue with the procedure in place for Zone requests of corporate information. I spoke with my current manager and he encouraged me to work with my Zone and Corporate partners to develop a new more efficient and consistent procedure in responding to these requests.  Because of our enormous size, it takes a lot of work to change, but the new procedure was put into place and I am confident we will soon reach our goal. 

One of the greatest things I believe State Farm provides for employees is the opportunity for development.  From the start I have been always encouraged to pursue my long-term career goals. All my supervisors have always supported me by exposing me to various fields, setting up job shadowing, and meeting with me on a regular basis.  This enthusiasm exceeds just my professional exposure and experiences at State Farm. In fact, the most interesting project I have been involved with actually had very little to do with role as a corporate attorney.  I had an opportunity to participate in a candid discussion group/forum presented by the African-American employee resource group focusing on LGBT issues in the workplace. Not only did we discuss inclusiveness as “the right thing to do,” but also that intolerance in the workplace actually decreases productivity. It was an amazing chance for me to develop my views and hear other’s input.

 State Farm also makes me feel like I am making a difference by showing its commitment to the external communities where we work. Besides the United Way Campaign, State Farm offers the “Good Neighbor Grant” to its employees and provides 8 hours of paid time off each year so that associates can volunteer at a local school.  One of the organizations I was involved with received the $500 grant and I also volunteered at my niece’s school.  Multiply these efforts by 68,000 associates and it is difficult not to feel like State Farm is helping me, and others, to make a difference.

I can truly call State Farm “my forever home.”  I have been very fortunate to have a variety of experiences in my short career, but I never really knew where I would end up.  From my very early days at State Farm I have known this is where I will work until I retire (2039, I hope).  I am not sure of the path my career will take, but this is a great company with tons of options, so I can truly say I am home.