Survey Results - Trainee feedback on Milbank

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

Why did you choose to join this firm? ‘I liked the opportunities for a particular area of law I was interested in and I liked the smaller trainee cohort’, ‘reputation’, ‘high responsibility for trainees with a supportive culture’, ‘strong salary and maintenance grant during GDL/SQE years’, ‘I liked the vibes; the people were nice; good responsibility’, ‘the quality of the work, collegiate culture and the firm’s prestigious brand for certain practice areas’

What is the best thing about the firm? ‘Supportive learning environment and sociable colleagues’, ‘the culture’, ‘the work and people’, ‘my trainee intake!’, ‘the breakfast’, ‘the other trainees’, ‘the mentorship by mid- to senior-level associates who will try to give you interesting work when the opportunity arises and who care about developing trainees’

What could the firm do to improve? ‘Deals are often understaffed in certain teams. Better staffing would allow for greater learning opportunities for trainees, as associates would have the time to allow a greater level of involvement’, ‘more socials’, ‘improve the working hours’, ‘take into consideration what we choose for our training seat allocation (we are given a choice of “top 3” which are discarded for “market need”), ‘better support for juniors who are often stretched thinly’

What has been the best moment of your training? ‘Closing my first deal’, ‘developing feeling of comradery’, ‘trainee socials’, becoming closer with the other trainees; I have learned lots and gained perspective’, ‘completing my first big deal where I was responsible for a number of workstreams; everyone on the deal team worked really hard and I learned a lot and felt like a valued member of the team’

What has been the most challenging moment of your training? ‘Being entrusted with drafting tasks’, ‘multiple urgent and competing deadlines’, ‘lack of support from deal teams during signings, closings, and post-closings which are seen as “the trainee’s job” firm-wide’, ‘putting in lots of work but not having my seat preferences respected’, ‘adjusting to the lack of control over when you will get work’

The Legal 500 Future Lawyers verdict on Milbank

Milbank’s ‘prestigious brand’ and strength in leveraged finance, restructuring, project finance and energy work are clear draws for trainees, who cite the chance to gain ‘hands-on experience’ on ‘first-of-their-kind projects’ and cross-border matters as a major attraction.

Training at the US firm is fast paced, but the environment is repeatedly described as ‘supportive’ and ‘collegiate’. Associates in particular are praised for making a ‘real effort to get trainees involved with interesting and varied work’, while mid- to senior-level colleagues are valued for their mentorship and interest in junior lawyers’ development.

Milbank’s smaller trainee cohort also emerges as a real positive. Respondents point to sociable colleagues, friendships within the intake and a developing sense of camaraderie as central to their enjoyment, while the culture more broadly is seen as one in which trainees can build confidence quickly.

Responsibility is another defining feature of Milbank. One trainee described working on ‘very interesting deals’ involving household-name brands, with ‘a level of exposure I think was unusual for a first seat trainee’. Others highlighted completing major transactions, taking ownership of several workstreams and feeling like ‘a valued member of the team’.

There are, however, pressure points. Lean staffing can be difficult, with one respondent noting an instance where they were ‘the sole junior on five active deals’. Others would welcome greater transparency around seat allocation and qualification, as well as stronger protection for formal training sessions, which are considered ‘high quality and very useful’ but are not infrequently interrupted by live work.

For ambitious trainees, Milbank offers exceptional responsibility, impressive transactional exposure and a genuinely collegiate environment. For a demanding but rewarding training experience that leaves juniors feeling challenged, trusted and highly valued, research Milbank.

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 LLP is an elite, international law firm with over 1,000 lawyers and more than 220 partners, based in 11 offices. With 200+ lawyers based permanently in London, it is the firm’s second-largest office and consists of one of the most talented groups of lawyers of any US law firm in London. We advise on large-scale, high-end, complex matters usually involving multiple jurisdictions across a wide range of legal practice areas including banking & finance, litigation, corporate, IT & outsourcing and tax.

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

Our London office building is among the top 1% of sustainable office buildings in the United Kingdom. It is equipped with the latest technology and communal hubs to support our fully collegiate approach to working.

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 to have) 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