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Trainee Profile - Natalie Tan
 My first seat was in the Food & Drug group. In my very first week I was assigned to a project to advise a major pharmaceutical company on the enhancement of its global compliance policies and procedures. I was seconded to the client’s offices for one month to conduct an investigation into the extent and quality of their existing policies. This work involved a lot of responsibility and client contact as I had to give the client’s managerial team regular updates on the progress of my investigation and advise on how their existing policies could be enhanced and streamlined.
I found that the work you are given as a trainee in the Food & Drug group is varied, interesting and challenging. I prepared a memorandum for a major consumer goods company on the regulation of dietary supplements. I also assisted in advising several leading pharmaceutical companies on the introduction of new medicines and medical devices to the UK and EU markets. Towards the end of my seat I conducted a multi-country survey into clinical trial compensation requirements. This project was particularly challenging as I had to instruct local counsel in over 25 jurisdictions and coordinate the survey results with all parties.
My second seat was in the Corporate group. During my first month I was involved in preparing listing documents for the initial public offering of an African mining company, which involved attending several all-party meetings to discuss and negotiate the prospectus documents, marketing, funding and the timeline for the listing.
I also managed a project for a leading US designer and manufacturer of access equipment and machinery to change the directors of various subsidiaries in several jurisdictions. I had to instruct local counsel in the foreign jurisdictions to prepare the resolutions and board minutes required to change the directorships. This project has been an excellent way to improve my communication and client management skills, as I would frequently receive queries from local counsel and the client that required quick action and response. I enjoyed the level of responsibility and client exposure that I was given in managing this project.
As I was sharing an office with an Employment lawyer, I was also involved in several employment assignments. I was asked to prepare employment contracts such as compromise agreements, consultancy agreements, director’s service contracts and expatriate employment contracts. This work improved my legal drafting skills and gave me an insight into various employment issues.
The firm encourages its trainees to get involved in pro bono work. I volunteered to assist an individual to bring a claim for racial and religious discrimination against an influential government body. I prepared the claim form and discrimination questionnaires and filed these with the Employment Tribunal. As the other side was keen to settle the claim, I had to negotiate a settlement with a partner from a leading UK law firm who had been instructed to represent the other side. I must admit that at first, this was quite daunting and intimidating and I suggested that a more experienced lawyer should lead the negotiation. However, the firm was keen for me to gain experience and to improve my negotiating skills and confidence, so they urged me to conduct these negotiations myself. In the end, we obtained an excellent settlement and our client was extremely pleased with the result.
My current seat is a six month secondment to a major pharmaceutical company. The work here is extremely varied, ranging from preparing a sales and distribution agreement for the company’s best selling medicine, to communicating with the NHS and regulatory authorities regarding the promotion of pharmaceutical products, and advising the company on employment, property and various commercial issues. I look forward to gaining further experience and to developing my drafting, negotiation and client management skills during the next six months.
Overall, I have found that the quality of work and the level of responsibility that you get as a trainee at Covington is very high. The working environment is friendly, open and supportive, and the firm puts a lot of emphasis on the quality of its training program and the integration of trainees into the firm.
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