Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Milbank LLP

The lowdown - Trainees (in their own words) on Milbank LLP

Why did you choose this firm over any others? ‘The recruitment team was approachable and took a genuine interest in me as an individual’, ‘the opportunity to learn from a number of award-winning partners, whilst being part of a close-knit intake’

What is the best thing about the firm? ‘The best thing about the firm is the people’, ‘the quality of finance work the firm attracts is among the very best in London’, ‘trainees are very much made to feel part of the team’

What is the worst thing about the firm? ‘The lack of predictability in terms of workload’, ‘the high associate attrition rate’, ‘unpredictable hours (although this is caused by the nature of the work as opposed to the firm)’

What has been the best moment of your training to date? ‘Drafting a security and guarantee confirmation deed to confirm obligations under a senior facilities agreement’, ‘helping to run deals’, ‘being given high levels of responsibility on a headline-making deal’

What has been the worst moment of your training to date? ‘The transition period of bringing people back to the office; it often it felt quite empty’, ‘quiet periods’, ‘given multiple high-priority tasks with competing deadlines’, ‘feeling overwhelmed at first’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Milbank LLP

A day in the life of... Zara Barnes, 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.

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

Managing partners: Suhrud Mehta and Julian Stait

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 £17,000.

Diversity and inclusion