Nicollette Phillips Named Pfizer Summer Scholar

Touro Law is pleased to announce that Nicollette Phillips was chosen as a Pfizer 1L Summer Scholar.

Dean Elena Langan stated, “Nicollette's selection as a Pfizer Summer Scholar is a testament to her extraordinary dedication, intellectual depth, and unwavering commitment to justice and public health. We could not be more proud."

The Pfizer 1L Summer Scholar program is a highly competitive 10-week legal internship for first-year law students to work in Pfizer’s legal department in their New York City Headquarters during the summer. The program receives hundreds of applications, resulting in 10 first-year law students being selected to participate. The application process includes submitting a resume, cover letter, and written statement explaining interest in the program and a commitment to healthcare equity and ethical business practices. Applicants who passed the preliminary screening were asked to rank their preferred legal practice areas within Pfizer’s Legal Division as part of a secondary screening process. Attorneys from those practice areas then independently selected candidates to interview, after which the final Summer Scholars were chosen.

In addition to gaining in-house experience, Summer Scholars will meet and work with lawyers from the Pfizer Legal Alliance, a collaborative partnership with select multinational law firms. Students will also be given an opportunity to work on various pro bono projects.

This 10-week program offers students unique insight into the practice of law in a global company and the opportunity to work alongside experienced attorneys in a variety of practice areas. Pfizer’s in-house attorneys handle a wide range of issues, including issues relating to mergers & acquisitions, research & development, procurement, commercial product support, clinical development, regulatory, environmental, patents, trademarks, compliance, risk, and litigation.

Nicollette stated, “Through this fellowship, I hope to gain hands-on exposure to how a global compliance program operationalizes integrity across jurisdictions and business units. I am particularly interested in understanding how legal teams support ethical, sustainable business practices while enabling innovation that advances public health. I am also excited for the opportunity to engage with both in-house counsel and members of the Pfizer Legal Alliance, and to contribute to pro bono initiatives throughout the summer. I am grateful for the support of our law school community and proud to represent Touro Law within Pfizer’s Legal Division this summer.”

Nicollette said she learned about the Summer Scholar Program through the Office of Career and Professional Development and was immediately drawn to the opportunity to work within the legal department of a global biopharmaceutical company. “I am especially excited to share that I will be joining Pfizer’s Compliance organization, supporting attorneys who oversee the company’s industry-leading global compliance program. The team’s proactive risk management framework, centered on culture, governance, risk assessment, monitoring, investigations, and third-party management, strongly aligns with my interest in institutional accountability within highly regulated industries.”

Her interest in public health began while she was a high school student. She wrote her senior thesis examining maternal mortality rates among Black and Brown women. “Through that research, I came to understand how disparities in healthcare are often rooted in systemic inequities and gaps in oversight,” stated Nicollette. “That experience shaped my desire to better understand how legal and regulatory systems influence health outcomes and institutional responsibility.”

Prior to enrolling in Touro Law, she worked in the Securities Distribution Department at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, supporting attorneys in a highly regulated environment. There, she saw how careful legal analysis, cross-functional collaboration, and ethical judgment help organizations operate responsibly. This fueled her desire to earn a law degree, stating, “Combined with my business background from Babson College, that experience strengthened my interest in compliance and risk management within complex global institutions.”

“This is a prestigious placement and we are so proud of Nicollette. She is particularly focused and driven in this area and I am confident that this summer internship will help her build her legal skills and knowledge and help to distinguish her in the field early in her law school tenure,” stated Jim Montes, Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development.

After graduation, Nicollette hopes to begin her career in a setting where she can build strong legal and analytical skills while gaining exposure to different practice areas. While she has cultivated an interest in regulated industries such as healthcare through her academic and professional experiences, she is also interested in other areas of study such as real estate, because of how closely it intersects with business, growth, and regulatory practices. She is keeping an open mind about where her law school journey will take her.