Milbank LLP: What Law Students Should Know

Milbank is the leveraged finance firm. While other elite firms built their reputations on M&A advisory or courtroom battles, Milbank built its empire on the financing side of the equation. When a PE fund does a leveraged buyout, someone has to document the billions in debt that make the deal possible. That someone is very often Milbank.

The Basics

• Vault Rank: #9
• Headquarters: New York
• US Offices: New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles
• Size: ~700 attorneys worldwide
• Starting Salary: $225,000

What They Are Known For

Leveraged finance is the headline. Milbank represents lenders, the banks and institutional investors providing the credit facilities that fuel leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and other debt-heavy transactions. The firm's banking and leveraged finance group is the most active in the market by most measures. When the leverage lending league tables come out, Milbank is at or near the top.

Project finance is the other signature practice. Milbank has been a leader in project finance for decades, financing infrastructure, energy, and transportation projects worldwide. This practice has evolved naturally into clean energy and renewable infrastructure finance, where the firm is now one of the most active advisors in the world. If you are interested in the intersection of law and the energy transition, Milbank is doing more of that work than almost any competitor.

Litigation is solid and covers securities, banking, and financial services disputes. M&A exists but is not the firm's calling card, Milbank is primarily on the financing side of deals, not the advisory side.

The common thread is finance. Milbank is a bank's law firm. If your client is lending money, structuring a credit facility, or financing a power plant, Milbank knows how to document it.

Culture and Assignment

Milbank uses a department-based assignment system. Associates join a practice group (typically leveraged finance, project finance, or litigation) and work within that group. There is no formal rotation, but junior associates often get exposure to different types of financing transactions within their department.

The culture is collegial and professional without being stuffy. Milbank has historically attracted associates who are more interested in doing excellent work than in broadcasting their firm's name. There is less of the prestige-obsession you find at some Vault peers and more of a quiet confidence in the quality of the practice.

Hours are high, particularly in leveraged finance. When deal volume is strong, the pace can be relentless, lenders need documentation on tight timelines, and Milbank is often working on multiple financings simultaneously. But the work is specialized and the training is deep. Associates become genuine experts in credit documentation much faster than they would at a generalist firm.

Summer Program

Milbank's summer class is mid-sized, typically 60-80 summers. The program is well-run and gives you a genuine sense of the firm's personality, which is to say, substantive, professional, and not trying to outdo other firms on flash.

Summers get real leveraged finance and project finance work. The firm does not manufacture fake assignments. You will be reviewing credit agreements, researching covenants, and contributing to active deals.

Offer rates are consistently high. Milbank invests in its summers and makes clear during the program that the firm wants you back.

Offices

New York is the center of the leveraged finance practice and where most associates sit. The DC office focuses on litigation, regulatory work, and some project finance. LA handles West Coast transactions and some entertainment finance.

The international offices, London, Munich, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, Sao Paulo, reflect the global nature of the finance practice. Project finance deals often involve international counterparties, and Milbank's network supports that.

If you want to practice finance law in New York, Milbank is an elite option. If you want geographic diversity within the US, the options are more limited.

Compensation

Milbank matches the Cravath scale. $225,000 base for first-years with a $21,000 bonus. Total first-year comp: approximately $246,000.

Milbank has at times been a market leader on associate bonuses. The firm was one of the first to raise base salaries in recent bonus cycles, and it takes compensation seriously as a retention tool.

Who Should Apply

Milbank is the right firm if you know you want to do finance work, particularly leveraged lending, project finance, or clean energy finance. It is the right firm if you want to become an expert in credit documentation rather than a generalist who touches a little of everything. And it is the right firm if you are drawn to a culture that values substance over showmanship.

If you want a broad platform to try M&A, litigation, and corporate work before deciding, Milbank's specialization may feel limiting. But if the idea of being the best in the world at financing billion-dollar deals appeals to you, there is no better place to start.