Milbank’s reputation for collegiality relies on the attorneys, both past and present, who have contributed so much to our firm. Throughout the world, Milbank alumni are accomplishing great things in their careers and in their lives. Recently, attorneys from Milbank have joined such firms as Google, JPMorgan Chase, General Electric, The New York Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, to name a few.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
- A Milbank associate for three years, Blake Reese joined the Google legal team in 2010 to handle deals related to infrastructure and advertising. “As a young IP attorney at Milbank, I gained incredible experience servicing technology clients throughout the world,” says Reese. “The firm’s diverse bankruptcy practice gives attorneys the opportunity to delve into the tech licensing and intellectual property issues that can arise in a multitude of transactions. It’s been a great advantage to have that skill set working on Google’s technology intensive transactions.”
- A frequent guest on TV business shows, Bob Rice was a Milbank partner until he left in 1996 to pursue his own entrepreneurial endeavors. A former public company CEO, Rice is currently involved in alternative asset management strategies and investment, mainly as Managing Partner of the merchant bank Tangent Capital. “Everything I learned at Milbank about financial instruments and transactions and the regulatory schema behind them is super relevant to the cutting-edge things I’m doing now to bring financial transactions online,” Rice notes. “The credibility of a Milbank background was--and continues to be—hugely important.”
- Currently serving as the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General of Legal Affairs, Stephen Mathias has more than two decades of experience in international law for the UN and the US State Department. Involved in litigation and international trade issues in Milbank’s Washington, DC office from 1981 to 1987, Mathias credits his substantive work as an associate to laying the foundations for his subsequent career. “I was working on negotiations between Japan and the US concerning the ability of foreign lawyers to practice in Japan. My interest in the opportunities at the State Department developed from there,” he says. “When I left law school I felt I didn’t really have a good idea about the practice of law,” Mathias adds. “Milbank assisted me in developing skills—particularly in improving the clarity and precision of my writing—that have been extremely important in my career.”
- In her role as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Warner Chilcott PLC, Izumi Hara has responsibility over all legal matters for the global specialty pharmaceutical company. As a Milbank associate in New York from 1985 to 1992, she became increasingly involved in mergers and acquisitions. “When you’re working on an M&A deal you have to understand everything about everything,” Hara says. “You have to know what all of the issues are that affect the target whether as a buyer or a seller. I think that kind of perspective uniquely prepares you to go on—as I did—to be in-house counsel. The training and the close mentoring I received at Milbank taught me how to keep a lot of balls in the air because you’re constantly handling diverse issues all at once.”