Milbank LLP partner Kelsey Breck Baumberger, a member of the firm’s Direct Lending and Specialty Finance practice, has been named to Bloomberg Law’s 2025 “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40,” which recognizes the accomplishments of stellar young lawyers nationwide. The evaluation process involved analyzing nominees’ record of success for clients while reviewing their leadership roles and commitment to pro bono service–the honorees include the next generation of legal leaders who excelled at these.
When asked by Bloomberg to define success in her practice, Ms. Baumberger shared, “Success is an incremental process. I aim to leave my desk every day feeling like I put in a good day’s work, whether that’s moving a deal forward, learning something new, or teaching somebody else.” Ms. Baumberger notably imparts her accomplishments onto junior members of the team while mentoring them on navigating challenges that may arise throughout the lifecycle of a deal. “You earn a positive reputation from clients by doing the work and enjoying it,” she says.
Based in New York, Ms. Baumberger represents lenders and borrowers in domestic and cross-border financing transactions, including structured financings and debt restructurings, with a focus on alternative asset manager financing solutions and structured transactions. Bloomberg’s Q&A with Ms. Baumberger highlighted her work at Milbank, which includes many first-of-their-kind structured fund finance transactions, including securitizations of general partner and limited partner interests and cash flows, unique and hybrid collateralized fund obligations and rated feeder transactions and cash flow transactions supported by a combination of management fees, carried interest and investment returns. Of a recent deal, Ms. Baumberger said, “I think this transaction opened the door for us and our clients to push further into the ever-evolving structured fund finance space—it feels like we are at the forefront, and I am very excited to be there.”
Discussing lessons learned early in her career that have informed her current practice, she recounts a humorous situation involving chasing a broken-down delivery truck in order to reach a timely (and successful) closing of a deal, conveying, “Even as an experienced partner, every part of this job is a skill that must be learned.”
Click here to read the full Bloomberg Q&A with Ms. Baumberger, where she discusses recent wins, her mentor and career lessons, and read “The 40 Under 40” feature in full here.
