The American Lawyer featured an article about Milbank’s new Deals@Milbank training program for its junior transactional lawyers, noting that the program is the latest in a suite of training initiatives at the firm.
The article notes that the program begins in associates’ first year at the firm in sessions that teach core dealmaking skills across four key areas: writing and drafting, accounting and finance, leadership and team building, and legal knowledge. The training includes hands-on drafting and negotiating workshops, business and finance simulations, and one-on-one coaching on legal writing, presentations, networking and leadership, among other skills.
“We think that investing in our associates and training them is one of the most important investments that we can make,” Milbank Chairman Scott A. Edelman noted in the article. He added: “It’s really a win-win-win for the firm and its clients. The investment that we make creates all sorts of benefits, in addition to making the firm a better, happier place for all of us.”
Two years ago Milbank launched Advocacy@Milbank, a program designed to build up the communication skills of litigation associates starting in their first year through interactive workshops and one-on-one coaching. Deals@Milbank, like Advocacy@Milbank, will continue through associates’ fourth year, when they shift to participate in a long standing program at the firm: Milbank@Harvard. Launched in 2011 in partnership with Harvard Law School, Milbank@Harvard provides additional business, finance and legal training each year for the firm’s midlevel and senior associates.
On Milbank@Harvard, Milbank’s Executive Director and Corporate partner David Wolfson noted in the article: “The reason we wait till the fourth year at Harvard is we think lawyers really need to have some experience before they can truly engage in these issues at a level of detail and complexity that makes it worthwhile at that stage in their career. He added: “We have a detailed strategic curriculum both internally and externally from the moment you step in the door at Milbank as a summer associate all the way through your career as an associate at Milbank.”
Read: The American Lawyer - Milbank Associate Training Program Targets the Art of the Deal
