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Milbank

55 Hudson Yards
New York, NY 10001

Phone number: (212) 530-5000

Visit Website: www.milbank.com

Summer Program: Learn More

Overview

Introduction

Leading the charge in compensation, Milbank is among the most elite law firms for corporate law. The firm prioritizes mentoring and training, including through its highly regarded Milbank@Harvard program. Hardworking-yet-easygoing candidates will fit well with the firm’s friendly culture. Milbank LLP is one of the nation’s leading firms for corporate finance and restructuring, litigation, and project finance and is known for its international work and focus on the energy sector.

Firm Stats

Total No. Attorneys (2021)

750 - 1K

No. of Partners Named (2021)

Featured Rankings

Vault Law 100...

No. of 1st Year Associates Hired (2020)

No. of Summer Associates (2021)

90 total (85 2Ls; 5 1Ls)

Base Salary

1st year: $205,000...

Vault Verdict

If you’re looking for a firm full of life, look no further than Milbank. This highly social firm fosters connections through practice-specific get togethers, affinity group meetups, and more. Milbank boasts a laid-back yet professional vibe, and lawyers and staff enjoy each other’s company. Associates feel partners appreciate them and are impressed with the time they dedicate mentorship and feedback—including all the way up to the firm’s chair. Transparency-wise, associates are mostly pleased with insights provided into firm finances—including during the chair’s State of the Firm—but they wish there was more insight into promotion before reaching the senior-associate level. Opinions are mixed on how realistic partnership is, though associates agree that exit options are plentiful ...

About the Firm

Milbank LLP is one of the nation’s leading firms for corporate finance and restructuring, litigation, and project finance and is known for its international work and focus on the energy sector.

Embracing Change

Milbank planted its roots on Wall Street more than 150 years ago as Anderson, Adams & Young. The firm’s first clients included American entrepreneurs, bankers, and railroad financiers, including the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers. The firm weathered two World Wars, the Great Depression, and a long string of mergers before settling in as Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in 1962. Today, the firm has 12 offices across the globe—including its new digs in Hudson Yards. The firm also rebranded in 2019, shedding the “Tweed, Hadley & McC...

2022 Vault Rankings

#23

Vault Law 100

#1

Best Law Firms for Project Finance

#4

Best Law Firms for Clean Tech/Renewable Energy Law

Associate Reviews

“Easygoing and friendly, but very smart and hardworking. It's a unique balance. People are social throughout the day. Mid-day group coffees are common.”
“Milbank's firm culture is beyond compare. My colleagues are friendly and sociable. Prior to the pandemic, we often socialized together. This occurred often at firm-sponsored events, but we would also gather together on our own. The day-to-day atmosphere is professional, but friendly and upbeat. There seems to be a good energy and an abundance of positivity around the firm. Lawyers and staff interact as equals. It is expected that lawyers treat non-lawyer staff respectfully.”
“Practice group specific for the amount of socialization events. The firm has really tried to keep everyone connected virtually—we have firm-sponsored events for Black History Month and Women's History Month, an additional budget to meet with mentors and associate buddies, and practice-group-specific social events. Some groups are friendlier than others with recurring events, but all have tried hard to keep people included.”
“The atmosphere is great. All lawyers are very open to help. They all invest their time in training and giving feedback. Is a great and open environment.”

“Partners vary widely, but are generally respectful and appreciative of associates. The chairman of the firm provides a quarterly address of finances and overall state of the firm. The partners in my group are also fairly forthcoming on questions about the firm during our weekly group meetings. Review are collected from associates and partners you have worked with and delivered anonymously, once a year.”
“Partner interactions are very amicable and professional, the firm is generally transparent about finances and firm performance but could improve on transparency of internal promotion and performance reviews.”
“Every year, the chairman of the firm presents on ‘The State of the Firm’ not only to partners, but also to associates. He walks through the firm's performance in the last year, financials, etc., which is a level of transparency that I did not expect but greatly appreciate. All of my interactions with partners at the firm have been great. More than once I've received calls from partners just wanting to check in and see how my early time at the firm is going.”
“Myself and another first-year associate engaged in research and preparation for a deposition taken by the Chairman of the firm. I will never forget the kindness demonstrated by the Chairman, as he offered to spend 30 minutes with the two of us after the deposition to answer any questions we had about his strategy, the case, or depositions generally. That anecdote truly reflects a commonality among the partnership at Milbank: the firm invests in the development of its junior associates. The firm has hosted regular conversations about the state of the firm, and the state of individual practice groups, throughout the pandemic. These presentations have included detailed financials and thorough explanations as to leadership decision-making.”
“Individual partners are great. They really value associates and are excited when they get to work with a new associate. Even in work from home, I've found the partners I've worked with want to get to know me. The firm is fairly transparent, especially with finances. The process for internal promotion, however, is a bit of a black box.”

“Milbank does not have a billable-hour requirement, which has provided some relief during the ebbs and flows of the pandemic. In the litigation department there is an assignment coordinator, which results in an even distribution of cases, to the extent possible.”
“As a senior associate, I feel like I have too much work but the firm does a good job of making sure there are adequate juniors and mid-levels on the team. And they are understanding about timing—if I need more time to get something done, they understand.”
“Transactional work is notoriously unpredictable and volatile. In particularly busy years, such as 2020 and 2021, the work flow is bound to get heavier. I think all of us wish we had more predictability and increased down time, but it is appreciated that the workflow is divided equally among us.”
“I love the lack of a billable-hour requirement. There is no fighting over assignments or hours. Of course, we do work a lot—but it is comforting to know that there is no requirement in times when work is slow.”

“Milbank's compensation is consistent with the top of the market, and, in recent years, Milbank has been a leader in setting the bar.”
“Milbank was an early mover with the extra bonuses in 2020 and now in 2021. It's nice to be financially appreciated when other firms aren't always active in this area.”
“Milbank is a market leader when it comes to pay and bonus and is always willing to match bonuses announced by other firms. Recently, there's a minimum hour requirement for certain bonuses which had not been a feature historically.”
“The special bonuses we received in 2020 were very generous.”

“On multiple busy teams I have done everything that I think a second-year associate might do in varying degrees, depending on the demands of the case: document review and basic support tasks (creating charts and binders, etc.); communicating with clients, vendors, experts, and regulators; drafting briefs; and analyzing and discussing various strategic choices.”
“Wide variety of work spanning most aspects of litigation. Despite being a mid-level associate, depending on the case, I can handle many aspects of litigation, including being lead drafter on briefs, managing team of junior associates, communicating with client/government/opposing counsel, leading meet and confers, etc.”
“As a third year, I always take the first cut of all substantive agreements and offering documents.”
“The work is interesting and I get a substantial amount of responsibility as a senior associate. I have my hands on almost all aspects of the cases and am looped into client contact the majority of the time. Partners rely on the senior associates to run the cases and have a ‘mind meld’ with the partner about all aspects of the case.”
“After consistently being given more and more responsibility as I have progressed at the firm, I have been trusted with projects usually reserved for attorneys several years my senior. In general, attorneys in our group do the work of more senior counterparts at other firms.”

“Honestly, remote working has been far more smooth than I could have expected. Beyond a few minor tech hiccups at the beginning, I think our teams are now working as efficiently or more efficiently than before the pandemic.”
“The firm provided a stipend to buy technology for working at home at the beginning of the pandemic and that was awesome and much appreciated.”
“We did receive a stipend to get a monitor, keyboard, printer etc. sent to our homes during the pandemic. But overall, I think our technology could use some work. It can be very slow and frustrating at times.”
“I think IT does a good job here. We have a 24-7 helpdesk and there have never been any major problems for me.”
“The firm has provided a technology package, wherein associates may request specific technology (e.g., a monitor, docking station, printer, headset, etc.) to be delivered directly to their home. The firm has adopted Zoom for the majority of interactions but has used other software such as Remo to facilitate social events."

“The firm has a relationship with a health center in the Hudson Yards building that provides easy access to health services as well as health programming. There are various affinity groups that have been particularly focused on mental health programming during the pandemic.”
“Milbank does offer some wellness resources, but I do think it could be more extensive and more discussed, especially during the pandemic.”
“Milbank's Los Angeles office has a gym in the building that Milbankers can join at a discounted rate. Milbank offers periodic zoom meetings with wellness experts and access to a meditation app.”
“They have a few events and provided us access for free to a wellness app called Headspace.”

“Milbank@Harvard continues to impress and seems to be the gold standard for law firm training.”
“Formal training has been exceptional for first years. The Deals@Milbank and Advocacy@Milbank is a strong formal training program at an early level to really understand the basics of what we're doing. We also have assigned partner mentors, rotation buddies, and rotation mentors, and people respect the time and obligations that go into those meetings. Many people are willing to serve as informal mentors as well.”
“The formal training at Milbank is very well done. I've benefitted very much from the oral advocacy workshop, the writing workshop, and the deposition workshop. I am excited to take the Milbank at Harvard program later in the year, which has been highly regarded by all of those who attended.”
“There's a massive effort to organize effective, regular formal training. Informally partners consistently seek to give associates opportunities that will allow them to develop.”

“Partnership is realistic in my department, and the Firm is willing to be creative about carving out long-term non-partner roles.”
“[It’s] really hard to make partner at Milbank, but senior associates can also become special counsel. Plus, exit opportunities are strong even during the pandemic, e.g. fellow associates have transitioned to federal clerkships, peer BigLaw firms, elite litigation boutiques, high-end firms in smaller markets, etc.”
“… The process, at least until you are a seventh/eighth year, is a bit of a black box, and partnership is unrealistic for most associates, particularly with the firm's move to make so many lateral partners in recent years. Associates have not seemed to have trouble finding good exit opportunities in house or at other firms.”
“The partnership track is fairly long, but the exit opportunities are diverse.”

Why Work Here

At Milbank, our attorneys collaborate across globally impactful practices like project, energy & infrastructure, M&A, capital markets, fintech, private equity & more. With a longstanding commitment to pro bono work, renowned professional development opportunities and mentoring programs, an inclusive and collegial culture, and established affinity groups, we pride ourselves on the work we do and the values we keep. The firm has practice groups in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC to help the world’s leading businesses, institutions and individuals achieve their strategic objectives.

Learn more about our practices, our career development programs like Milbank@Harvard, how we serve our communities, and who we are.

Diversity at Milbank

"Milbank was one of the first major New York law firms to create a diversity committee. The recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse and women lawyers is a fundamental part of the Diversity & Inclusion and Women's Initiative Committees' goals. The Firm is proud to have been, since inception, a signatory of the New York City Bar's Statement of Diversity Principles, which affirms law firms' commitment to achieving diversity goals and fostering diversity in the legal profession. Milbank's Diversity & Inclusion and Women's..."

Read the Diversity Report

Getting Hired Here

“Milbank has thrived because our attorneys value and respect their peers, and recognize the importance of supporting and working for each other. Candidates who demonstrate this attitude, along with an outstanding work ethic, are always at the top of my list.”
“Very high standards in terms of academic performance, but the firm is also much more explicitly focused on promoting diversity and inclusion as part of the hiring process and also gives serious consideration to the needs of culture fit, and in particular in terms of maintaining the collegial and mutually supportive culture.”
“The ideal candidate is someone who is intellectually curious, self-starter, easy going and genuinely nice. I think that the firm has put a lot of emphasis on personality, grades and prior work experience. The firm does provide training before interviewing begins as to guidelines and things to look out for.
“Personality seems to matter more than anything. Candidates from all schools are considered equally, but there seems to be a desire to draw more candidates from T14 (non-T14 candidates must be top of their class).”

“We are encouraged to use the same questions across candidates to establish a benchmark and keep the interview process as fair as possible. I generally try to include the same three questions: (i) What was your most significant challenge either in law school or during a work experience? (ii) What was your most rewarding experience in law school or during work experience and (iii) Why law?”
“What are you looking for in a firm and in your future practice? What stands out to you about Milbank? We're looking for those who are as excited about the possibility of joining Milbank as we are about working at Milbank (which is to say pretty excited).”
“Tell us about your last summer.”
“Speak to your previous deal experience as a lateral.”

“I was assigned a lateral associate buddy and have served as a lateral associate buddy for others. I think it depends on your group and individual efforts how easy it is to integrate into the firm. Milbank@Harvard is Milbank's best asset in terms of lateral associate integration.”
“I was assigned a ‘lateral buddy’ (i.e., someone in my class year to ask questions to), but I didn't receive a formal partner or senior associate mentor (as I understand people who started with the firm have). If you're not extroverted and a self-starter, I could see it being hard to find your footing.”
“As a lateral during the Covid-19 pandemic, Milbank and my team worked hard to ensure my integration. I was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of the transition to the firm.”