Milbank LLP

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Milbank LLP

Milbank attracts trainees with its “top-of-the-market finance practices combined with a friendly culture” and the promise of “quality of work and number of top-ranking teams, and ability to take on responsibility.” The small trainee intake is a particular draw, described as fostering “greater client exposure, camaraderie and the ability to take on more responsibility.” Others highlight the appeal of combining “quality of work, remuneration, small intake,” which makes Milbank stand out among elite US firms in London. Training is consistently described as front-loaded with responsibility. One trainee said, “we do more substantive work and take on more responsibility at an earlier stage,” while another added, “we are given more responsibility and opportunities to ‘reach up’ to associate level work. It also feels like we get more client face time.” This does come with trade-offs, with one candid remark that the training means “much more responsibility but worse hours.” Still, others note that “the firm is offering more and more structured training for trainees which is very encouraging.” When asked about the best thing at Milbank, the responses are unequivocal: “the people and the remuneration,” “quality of work and opportunities to learn,” and “being exposed in-depth to top-of-the-market work.” The prestige of deals plays a big role in trainees’ experiences. Highlights have included “working on the biggest European private credit funded LBO”, being given “significant responsibility despite being a trainee,” and “facilitating a top-of-the-market M&A transaction for a big private equity client.” Seeing these deals “reported in the press” is also a source of pride. But alongside this high-quality work, the long hours are the biggest downside. Trainees speak frankly of “several 3am finishes,” “several all-nighters, including three consecutively,” and “liaising with foreign counsel at 4am.” For some, the “unpredictability of work-life balance” and lack of flexibility if “anything gets in the way of work” are real challenges. Hybrid working is described as “team specific,” with some offering “full flexibility” and others sticking to “the official firm policy of four days in the office for trainees.” On the pro bono side, trainees highlight “lots of opportunities especially pro bono” and a “very good” level of availability across teams. For those who want “top-of-the-market work” and aren’t afraid of some late nights, Milbank offers early responsibility, strong client exposure, and the chance to learn directly on headline-grabbing deals.

A day in the life of... A trainee, Milbank

Departments to date: TSG; Leveraged finance; Litigation

University: University of Cambridge

Degree: Law, 2(1)

Morning: The day starts between 9-9.30am. First, I check my emails to see if anything has come in overnight (perhaps from clients working in different time zones) and either reply to those or complete the tasks set in them. Tasks might include updating conditions precedents checklists to help everyone working on a deal stay up-to-date with the progress of the deal and what stages the various documents are at, amending documents based on the comments received from a client or external counsel, or emailing documents onto various parties for their review.

Lunch: Now that we have returned to the office, lunch is a great time to talk to other Milbank employees, whether this be fellow trainees, people from your team, or people from other departments in the firm.

Afternoon: In the afternoon, I either continue the work from the morning or get set more work by associates in my team. Often, they call me (if we are not in the office) or come into my office to explain the task and make sure that I understand what I am doing. Everyone is very helpful. The work set includes drafting the various documents required for transactions, creating signature packs for when deals are being signed, or checking documents for missing definitions or cross-references.

Evening: If you are working into the evening, you can eat at the office and complete your work. If not, the evening is yours to spend however you like! On some nights, I like to cook or go out for dinner with my friends. On others, I might go to the gym, but usually I just collapse onto the sofa and watch TV with my housemates!

About the firm

The firm: Milbank is a premier international law firm handling high-profile, complex cases and business transactions through 12 offices worldwide. Our offices work together on an integrated basis, giving us an extraordinary global presence and allowing us to serve a client base that includes the world’s leading companies and financial institutions. Milbank is internationally recognised as a leader in major corporate/finance transactions (such as M&A, structured finance, banking, capital markets and project and transportation finance), litigation (including complex commercial, intellectual property, securities and white collar), financial restructuring, and trusts and estates.

The deals: Please refer to our website for recent deals we have worked on.

Managing partners: Tom Canning and Andrej Wolf

Other offices: https://www.milbank.com/en/offices/index.html.

Who we are: Shaping the legal landscape.

Driven to deliver exceptional results for our clients, we push boundaries and challenge assumptions. That’s been core to our ethos since our founding in 1866. It fuels how we work and define ourselves, and it informs our growth and evolution as a firm.

We keep impressive company. Our clients are market leaders, global innovators and paradigm-shifting entrepreneurs that advance emerging industries. Surrounding ourselves by the best inspires and challenges us to constantly reimagine what’s possible.

Our clients are why we strive for remarkable results.

What we do: https://www.milbank.com/en/practices/index.html.

What we’re looking for: Our trainees work in small teams and are given responsibility from day one. Working directly with associates and partners, our trainees are an integral part of the team in every seat. The benefit of our select intake is that our trainees receive exposure to high-quality work as well as first-class training and supervision throughout their training contracts.

We’re looking for candidates who not only have strong academics but who also possess excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Candidates will need to be ambitious, intellectually curious and have a genuine interest in our practice areas. You should also have (or be predicted) a 2(1) or above in any degree discipline.

Sponsorship

Costs for PGDL and SQE covered by Milbank. Maintenance grant amount has now been increased to £20,000.

Diversity and inclusion