Jennifer Lawrence: NEXT Insurance GC on Giving Back

Before Jennifer Lawrence became a general counsel, she was an intern at CBS, where famed news anchor Dan Rather gave her a pivotal piece of advice: go to law school “to learn how to think” before continuing in journalism.

She took it. After earning her bachelor’s in English from Columbia University in 1993, Lawrence earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1997, and later added an MBA from BU’s Questrom School of Business in 2011.

“NEXT fits well in how I think about things and provides opportunities to give back,” Lawrence says. “I’ve had strong, amazing people that believed in me and gave me chances to do things before I was seasoned. My goal is to do that for others, particularly for women.”

What NEXT Does

Founded in 2016 by Guy Goldstein, Alon Huri, and Nissim Tapiro, NEXT Insurance provides digital insurance policies tailored for small businesses across the U.S. The founders started the company after struggling to find proper coverage for their own businesses.

Today, NEXT serves 420,000 small businesses with lines including:

• General and professional liability
• Commercial property
• Workers’ compensation
• Business owner’s policies
• Liquor liability
• Tools and equipment coverage

Customers range from Amazon third-party sellers to construction workers, architects, engineers, cleaning services, and retailers. Policies are sold directly online, through independent agents, and via partners.

“My co-founders and I started NEXT to make a difference in the small business community by providing a one-stop shop for all its insurance needs,” says CEO Goldstein.

AI and Data at the Core

NEXT leverages data with AI and machine learning to customize products and coverage. The data analytics team reviews depersonalized aggregated data and existing policies to build algorithms that create more accurate quotes, speed up purchasing, and handle claims more efficiently.

“We help set the risk tolerance and appetite,” Lawrence says. “We also work with the business units to talk about the risks they see and build in mitigations for those.”

A Career in Insurance and Public Service

Lawrence’s public sector work began in the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General. She went in-house in 1999 as chief legal officer for Capitol Consulting, then joined White Mountains in 2004 as director of government affairs and assistant general counsel.

Company founder Jack Byrne was a major influence: “He was so innovative and forward thinking in the industry and he gave me opportunities before I knew I was ready for them. He gave me confidence, and he also told me ‘don’t screw it up.'”

Key Roles Along the Way

• One Beacon Insurance Group — General counsel and SVP, serving on subsidiary boards
• L Risk Consulting — Managing partner, advising on insurance, health care, and real estate
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts — Assistant secretary of economic development and general counsel under Gov. Deval Patrick, overseeing legal affairs for the Division of Insurance and Division of Banks
• PURE Group of Insurance Companies — SVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary
• Noblr Car Insurance (USAA) — Chief legal officer and corporate secretary
• NEXT Insurance — General counsel, starting March 2022

Lessons from Governor Patrick

While reviewing Massachusetts regulations for relevance to changing business environments, Lawrence also absorbed Patrick’s perspective on DEI. As the first Black governor in Massachusetts, he told her: “It doesn’t matter if you’re the first if there’s no second or third.”

Sponsorship Over Mentorship

Lawrence is a founding member of the Boston chapter of Chief, a private network of women in executive leadership roles founded in 2019 by Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan. She describes her DEI work as sponsorship, going beyond listening and encouragement to actively helping women secure leadership positions using her experience and network. Legal recruiters in Massachusetts will tell you that kind of backing matters. A strong résumé gets you in the room, but someone vouching for you often gets you the job.

Motherhood and Work-Life Balance

Becoming a mother later in life reshaped Lawrence’s outlook on the workplace. Raising her daughter reaffirmed the value of flex schedules and gave her a new appreciation for time and project management.

“NEXT fits well in how I think about things and provides opportunities to give back. My goal is to do that for others, particularly for women.”