The Legal 500

Milbank offers a range of services under English and New York law, with particular skills in corporate, financial restructuring, capital markets, international tax, litigation and arbitration, technology and business outsourcing, and project, structured, Islamic and leveraged finance.

The firm: Milbank lawyers practise as a global group, and often form integrated teams to address the needs of transactions, drawing on the requisite resources of each of the firm’s offices in Europe, the US and Asia. Milbank has English- and US-qualified lawyers in the London office, and German- and English-qualified lawyers in its Frankfurt and Munich offices. Many of these lawyers have been recognised as leaders or experts in their practice areas by the major legal directories. Milbank handles complex, cutting-edge deals that often have a strong cross-border component. Milbank’s strategy for the future is straightforward: it plans to continue growing, focusing on businesses in which it is already a market leader.

Types of work undertaken: Acquisition finance: the firm’s integrated team includes experts in the fields of senior lending, bridge loans, high-yield debt, mezzanine and PIK debt, M&A, private equity, derivatives, tax and financial restructuring across the full range of acquisition finance transactions, including infrastructure, leveraged and investment grade financings. Clients include senior and mezzanine lenders, underwriters and financial sponsors, issuers and borrowers.

Corporate: the firm represents buyers and sellers, private equity investors, strategic partners and financial advisors in the full range of M&A transactions throughout Europe. The team focuses on areas and transactions where it is able to combine strengths in acquisition/leveraged financing capabilities with a commercial approach to transactions.

Capital markets: the London team focuses on servicing areas where the firm is particularly strong, including initial public offerings, high-yield bonds, leveraged acquisitions, emerging market offerings, project bonds, securitisations and other types of highly structured cross-border products. The firm is able to structure and document capital markets offerings under both English and New York law.

Commercial litigation and arbitration: the firm specialises in complex, high-stakes, substantial business and regulatory disputes.

International tax: the practice has expertise across the entire range of corporate, income and related taxation, covering the corporate, investment funds and financial services sectors. It focuses on developing and implementing new cross-border products and the structuring of tax-optimal strategies for international consortia, joint ventures and funds.

Islamic finance: the firm’s Islamic finance practitioners have wide experience of structuring and documenting Shari’ah-compliant financings, with particular expertise in acquisition financing, project financing and securitisation.

Project finance: the London team has accomplished high-profile mandates in the power, oil and gas, metals and mining, water, telecoms and satellites, and transport infrastructure sectors, and is ranked among the leaders in the London market.

Restructuring: the firm advises creditors and debtors on complex restructurings, in particular involving leveraged capital structures.

Securitisation and structured finance: the firm has a leading practice acting for a range of institutional and fund manager clients.

Technology, communications and outsourcing: the firm is recognised as a global leader in IT telecommunications and outsourcing law. The London team had advised on many of the largest and most complicated outsourcing and technology projects in recent times. The firm is widely recognised as being a leader in satellite regulatory and commercial work and has expertise in all aspects of communications, satellite and telecommunications, and space transactions.

Transportation finance: the firm specialises in all forms of asset-related financing in the transportation, satellite, shipping and infrastructure areas.

Other offices: Frankfurt, Munich, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Sao Paulo

Breakdown of work %
Finance  50
Corporate and commercial  35
Litigation  15

Number of UK partners 15
Number of other UK fee-earners 44