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Investing in You

Whether you’re a summer associate or a seasoned attorney, we provide ongoing training and development at every stage of your career trajectory. Expect training that’s varied, practical and that goes beyond the norm. From frequent lunch-and-learns, a robust mentoring program and tailored practice group trainings to our groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind Milbank@Harvard program, we take your professional development seriously.


Summer Associates – Dive Right In

For 10 weeks, summer associates are essential members of our litigation and transactional teams. As you rotate through three practice areas, you’ll complete work comparable to junior associates—taking detailed notes on client calls, drafting documents for key deals, or preparing for and observing depositions. It’s work that matters, advancing our cases and your professional development.

Throughout the summer you’ll also attend an intensive five-session training that prepares you with a deeper understanding of our practice areas, client needs and how we serve them. Through simulated negotiations and other interactive exercises, you will explore key legal steps in the lifecycle of a hypothetical company, Windstar, from its inception to bankruptcy or restructuring.

Weekly lunch-and-learns provide additional information about Milbank and practicing the law from experts both within the firm and from external legal groups. Topics include an in-depth look at the business of law firms, tips for acing the Bar Exam, and a state of the firm by our Chairman.

Learn more about a summer at Milbank. 


Transactional Rotation – Explore and Decide

Our rotation program for transactional associates offers a unique opportunity to explore our practices and gain valuable experience with a range of deals.

During your first 12 months as a transactional associate in New York, you’ll rotate through three of our seven transactional groups for four months at a time. This rotation will help you make more informed decisions about the practice you wish to develop in your career. By working with a number of partners and peers, you also fully participate in—and contribute to—our cross-practice, team-oriented culture. You and your partner mentor will discuss your goals and progress throughout all three rotations. 

Deals@Milbank – Tailor-Made Training for Transactional Lawyers 

As a transactional associate, from your first year at the firm onward, you’ll participate in interactive, intensive workshops that will build your legal understanding and boost your business knowledge, from deep dives into transactional drafting and negotiating to leadership sessions on building relationships with clients and working effectively with deal teams. You’ll also focus on the communication skills needed to excel in your practice, and you will have multiple opportunities for coaching on writing and presentation skills while you learn to supervise teams. Along the way, you’ll discuss your goals and progress with your partner mentor.

Advocacy@Milbank – Learn by Doing

Advocacy@Milbank is our comprehensive, multi-level training program for litigators. Beginning in your first year and continuing through your sixth year of practice, you’ll participate in a series of hands-on, interactive workshops. These “learn by doing” programs, along with an intensive, tiered writing program, will help you build the advocacy and communication skills essential to becoming a highly-effective litigator.

In addition, our Pro Bono Criminal Appeals: Appellate Defenders Program connects associates with seasoned partners and peers on actual cases, providing opportunities to draft briefs and present oral arguments.

Restructuring@Milbank – Becoming an Expert

Restructuring@Milbank is an intensive curriculum for our Financial Restructuring associates. It consists of a tiered Bankruptcy Academy, where basic, intermediate and advanced programs offer the opportunity to gain deep subject-matter expertise on a range of bankruptcy and restructuring topics.

At an Oral Advocacy Workshop, associates practice arguing a motion in bankruptcy court with our own bankruptcy litigators serving as judges. You’ll receive direct feedback on your strategy from experienced attorneys, and a presentation skills coach will meet with you one-on-one for additional advice. Our associates also join Advocacy@Milbank and Deals@Milbank programs that are relevant to our bankruptcy practice, including a series on persuasive writing.

Milbank@Harvard – Unparalleled Experience

 

Our one-of-a kind training program, produced in collaboration with Harvard Law School Executive Education, begins in your fourth year.

For one week every 12-15 months over the course of three modules, you and your class peers from around the world will spend time in intensive training with Harvard professors and our partners in Cambridge. Milbank@Harvard includes highly interactive courses on finance and accounting, leadership and team management, strategy, marketing, negotiations and macroeconomics—all designed to help you hone the skills and expertise that sophisticated clients value in their legal advisors. Aside from these skills, you’ll strengthen relationships with your colleagues that will benefit you professionally and personally for years to come.

“I really believe that 10 years from now, when the next generation of Milbank partners are forming, we’re going to see significant gains in collaboration, trust and alignment on strategy. And it’s going to be fun to watch, actually. If they were a public company, I’d be investing right now.” – Scott Westfahl, HLS Director of Executive Education

Law.com: The Law Firm Disrupted: Salary Wars Were So Last Week, Here Come the Training Wars?

Leadership Feedback

During your last two years participating in Milbank@Harvard, you’ll benefit from our exclusive Leadership Feedback program, developed with Harvard Law School Executive Education based on input from our own associates. You’ll receive feedback from lawyers you manage, legal assistants, administrative staff, and business services professionals, among others. This feedback, which is maintained by a third-party and not shared with partners or managers at Milbank, forms the basis of ongoing, one-to-one coaching with an experienced executive leadership coach. You’ll receive tailored, actionable advice and assistance with goal-setting. 

Another feedback session will follow in your sixth year, and once again you’ll have an opportunity to assess your growth and continue working toward your goals. Throughout the program, you’ll develop your understanding of team dynamics and learn how to inspire and lead others.

Visit us for more on training and career development at Milbank.