Associate Development
As Milbank lawyers, we dive in, test our limits, and expand our knowledge—every day.
Training at Milbank
From theory into practice
We teach you what law school doesn’t. From the moment you arrive and over the course of your career, Milbank provides several complementary levels of professional development. Macro-level programs establish a common foundation for all litigation and transactional groups; these run parallel with micro-level trainings which provide practice area specific knowledge. And as you progress, we make sure you’re adding key professional skills to your tool kit, from client relations and business development to negotiation, leadership and management. All of these skills come together in our exclusive Milbank@Harvard program, where our mid- to senior-level associates spend a week every year for three years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, learning from Harvard professors and our partners in intensive, interactive sessions.
Transactional Rotation Program
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—and make lasting connections that will help you in your career.
During your first nine months as a transactional associate in New York, you’ll rotate through three of our seven transactional groups for three 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.
Transactional associates attend an intensive core training series that includes a multi-session, hands-on drafting workshop and other interactive classes. You and your partner mentor will discuss your goals and progress throughout all three rotations.
Practices include:
- Alternative Investments
- Capital Markets
- Corporate
- Leveraged Finance
- Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance
- Real Estate
- Transportation and Space
Advocacy@Milbank
Learn by doing
Advocacy@Milbank is our comprehensive, multi-level training program for litigators. Beginning in your first year, 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.
As part of the program, our pro bono criminal appeals initiative connects you with seasoned partners and peers on actual cases, where you’ll gain experience in drafting briefs and presenting oral arguments.
Advocacy@Milbank Core Skills:
- Hands-on Workshops
- Evidence – 1st year
- Deposition Skills – 2nd year
- Oral Argument – 3rd year
- Trial Skills – 5th year
- Expert Depositions – 6th year
- Tiered Writing Program
- One-on-One Writing Coaching – offered every other month to all associates
- Writing for Litigators: Pleadings, Motions & Discovery – 1st year
- Advanced Persuasive Writing I, II, III & IV – 2nd - 5th years
- Presentation Skills – private and semi-private sessions offered quarterly to all associates
- Pro Bono Criminal Appeals: Appellate Defenders Program
Deals@Milbank
Skill-building for deal lawyers
For associates in our transactional groups, Deals@Milbank teaches the core skills essential to deal lawyers in an elite global practice. 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, with multiple opportunities for coaching on your writing and networking skills, presenting to teams and clients, and supervising others.
- Hands-on workshops & interactive seminars:
- Transactional Drafting
- Advanced Contract Drafting & Negotiating Workshop
- Introduction to Finance
- Financial Statement Analysis for Lawyers
- Legal knowledge programs on transactional practice, including:
- Due Diligence
- Federal Securities Laws
- Credit Agreements
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Multiple opportunities for one-on-one coaching on:
- Legal Writing
- Presentation Skills
- Networking
- Leadership
Milbank@Harvard
Unparalleled experience
Our one-of-a kind training program, produced in collaboration with Harvard’s Business and Law schools, begins at the end of your third year.
For a week every 12-15 months, for a total 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. A customized Leadership Feedback program gives you the chance to learn about your work style and strengths from those working with you—and to set and achieve goals with personalized coaching. Along the way, you’ll strengthen relationships with your colleagues that will benefit you professionally and personally for years to come.
