Graeme Rieser spent his summer gaining hands-on experience in commercial ethics and compliance at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. From drafting policies to advising sales and marketing teams, he navigated complex regulatory frameworks and explored the intersection of law and healthcare. Read on to learn about his experience and how it shaped his career path!
Can you talk briefly about what you did last summer?
Last summer, I worked in the Commercial Ethics and Compliance Counsel at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals in Princeton, NJ. My job functions generally entailed drafting company policies, maintaining various compendiums, and performing legal research to aid in advising the Sales and Marketing teams on promoting and selling products in ways that align with federal, state, and local regulations.
How and when did you find your job?
I applied via Symplicity! I believe I was first interviewed sometime in late January and was offered the position in late February.
What was a typical day like at Otsuka?
That totally depended on whether I was in the office or working from home! I was in the office three days a week and worked from home the other two. On days I went in, I arrived a bit before 9 a.m. and helped myself to the free snacks and coffee—made for a tremendous breakfast. On days I worked from home, I had to settle for my own coffee, and my machine can’t make lattes, so that was always a bummer.
Between nine and noon, I would typically sit in several meetings with my direct supervisor that largely set the pace for the day. The entire company makes an effort to rest completely from noon to one, during which I would eat lunch and walk around the campus, which is absolutely gorgeous. The remainder of the day generally involved performing the work assigned during morning meetings. We often had the chance to speak with others in different departments and learn more about both the company and other in-house legal roles!
How much of the internship did you spend working on compliance matters?
Nearly all of my work functions were related to compliance matters. When not working on something directly related to compliance, we often had the opportunity to meet with senior leadership and others within the company to learn more about their roles.
Did you enjoy the compliance work you were exposed to? Why or why not?
I did! As part of the compliance counsel, we really engaged in big-picture thinking about what we, as a company, would report and how we would present that information. I enjoyed being part of that process because those decisions had real impacts on the company, and I loved contributing to them.
What was your favorite assignment or experience working for Otsuka?
Hands down, the best experience was getting to advise other departments, like marketing and sales, on how to achieve their goals in a manner that complied with federal, state, and local laws. Every day, I was part of what was essentially a client counseling session, and I really loved the brainstorming that occurred during those meetings. It always felt special to come up with a winning idea that allowed those other departments to excel at their jobs in ethical and compliant ways.
