Louine McKisack was a trainee and then an associate in the London corporate team from 1991 to 1995. She is now Senior Legal Counsel, HR – Europe, Eurasia and Africa at Chubb, the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company, serving consumers and companies of all sizes with traditional and specialty insurance products and industry-leading claims and risk engineering services.
Q: Describe your role. Do you miss private practice?
A: I am Chubb’s employment counsel for the Europe and Eurasia & Africa regions. I report to the General Counsel for Europe, Eurasia & Africa and provide legal support for all labour and employment matters in these regions, including legal matters arising from staffing relationships, litigation, restructuring, M&A/divestitures, automatic employment transfer provisions, site moves, and managing outside counsel. I haven’t worked in private practice for nearly 20 years and am sure that it is very different now from the way I remember it. I have fond memories of camaraderie, fun and support from my colleagues and enjoyed working in an international environment. It is good to see that there are many more senior women in the practice now and that the firm has a greater emphasis on diversity and culture.
Q: What do you enjoy about your role? What do you dislike? What is a typical day?
A: I love the variety and international nature of my work, and the fact that I don’t have a typical day.
Q: What motivates you?
A: Interesting work and humour – my role provides many opportunities for both.
Q: Did you consider any other careers?
A: No.
Q: What is the best and worst decision you have ever made or what is the strangest/funniest thing that happened to you during your career?
A: The best decision I made was taking my father’s advice to study languages at university instead of history, as I gained a practical skill as well as a degree. I’ve made many bad decisions and just hope I learn from them.