Career Development Office Blog

In alignment with our focus on the diversity of leadership within our organization, Bristol-Myers Squibb is committed to increasing the diversity and inclusion of attorneys within the legal profession overall.

Starting in 1999, Bristol-Myers Squibb created a paid summer internship program for law students who were interested in experiencing the practice of law within a corporate law department. Bristol-Myers Squibb will continue this 10-week summer program in 2018.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Diversity & Inclusion Summer Legal Internship Program is intended to provide exceptional law students with a unique and in-depth opportunity to work in the corporate law department of a premier global BioPharma company. We seek qualified law students of diverse backgrounds (first year preferred, but students at different stages of their legal education will be considered, including LL.M. students), who have exhibited an interest in learning about healthcare, pharmaceutical, or corporate practice.

Although summer internships are not expected to lead to an offer of full-time employment with Bristol-Myers Squibb, our internships provide a professional experience that should prove valuable to participants and future employers. The positions will primarily be located in our Central New Jersey offices with occasional travel to our New York City office. The interns will be making trips between company sites as part of the summer program and are expected to arrange their transportation between sites.

In assessing potential candidates, this program is targeted towards law students from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession and:

• Are in good academic standing and rank in the top 30% of their class and/or carry a 3.0 GPA or better; AND
• Have shown a commitment to high ethical standards.

Candidates who are selected for an interview by Bristol-Myers Squibb should be prepared to respond to any of the following questions:

• How has your law school experience influenced the direction and focus of your future law career?
• What personal characteristics or circumstances make you an excellent candidate for this internship?
• What is your interest in healthcare, pharmaceutical or corporate practice?
• Do you have prior or current experience in the healthcare field (professional or otherwise) and if so, how has that experience influenced your perception of the healthcare field?
• What are your professional aspirations? Where do you see yourself five years after graduating law school?

Candidates should submit their completed applications via email by January 8, 2018. Applications submitted after this date, or formatted incorrectly, will not be considered. To be formatted correctly, each application must be submitted in a single PDF document with the applicant’s name as the title of the file (i.e., John Doe.pdf), and include in the following order:

• Application cover sheet
• A cover letter from the student indicating:
o Why the student is an excellent candidate for the program and specifically how the student would contribute to the program.
o A statement of why diversity and inclusion is important to the student.
• A current resume
• A legal writing sample (no more than 3 pages)
Students selected for interviews may be asked to submit their law school transcript.

For additional details, including the Application Cover Sheet, please ask your CDO advisor or visit the CDO.