Missouri In House Counsel Legal news, updates and analysis
Staff vice-president/Associate general counsel, Centene, Indiana University
Julia Farrell knew early on that law school was in her future.
“My parents told me when I was five years old that I should be a lawyer because I liked to argue so much,” said the 55-year-old St. Louis native. “That idea stuck in my head.”
Farrell, a former law clerk for the Missouri Court of Appeals, spent nearly a quarter century in litigation at Husch Blackwell before coming on board at Centene in 2021 as an associate general counsel. The vice-presidential title was added about a year ago.
But whatever the moniker for her job, the details of the role still remind her why she enjoys the work.
“I love litigation strategy. I love sitting down with a team or with my outside counsel,” she said. “It is almost like a game where you are trying to outthink your opponent and figure out a way to win. Right now, I get to do that 10 times a day every day because I manage dozens of cases and I’m dealing with my outside counsel on all my cases.”
Managing litigation for a Fortune 25 company isn’t easy but a nice part of Farrell’s job is dealing with plan presidents in every state where her company provides services.
“That’s another thing I enjoy,” she said, “working with leadership at health plans and providing them advice not just on litigation that’s pending but also I do a lot of advising on disputes and how to resolve them without getting into litigation.”
Perhaps what she likes best is delivering good news.
“I absolutely love when I get to make that phone call and say either we won…” she said, “or we were able to resolve this at way less than we thought.”
No matter what the outcome, one thing is certain. She is happy to have moved to a corporate counsel role.
“It was a really good move coming from a long career at a law firm coming in house,” she noted. “Probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done careerwise.”
