Milbank/Davis Polk/Cravath Scale: NYC to 215-415k Forum

[Anonymous User]

Well, I’ve just submitted a Vault response where Milbank is the most prestigious firm in the country, followed by middling scores for each firm that has matched so far. And every firm that hasn’t matched gets a 1.

Fighting the good fight.

[Anonymous User]

Screw this. I’m updating my resume and will be applying to milbank, cadwaladar, mcdermott, fried frank, goodwin, baker, wilmer, DLA, Winston, NRF and Cooley.

[Anonymous User]

I think DPW has its own plan and is telling Milbank/the market in general that it follows no one. There will be raises and special bonuses forthcoming, and DPW will be the talk of the town. They just don't feel the need to go tit for tat with Milbank when they have a plan in place that exceeds current market.

Agree with the bolded -- part of the silence is DPW ostentatiously not giving a shit about Milbank (which is somewhat surprising but maybe that's the point). The rest of this post is ...optimistic.

I love Milbank for pushing comp up and prestige is meaningless, but really don’t see Milbank breaking into DPW’s tier. The firm just doesn’t have enough partner talent across the board to be seen as or become a true peer of DPW, from DPW’s sightline.

[Anonymous User]

Looks like the Gunderson match (and raise for 2013s) is ATL official: https://abovethelaw.com/2022/02/gunderson-raise-2022/

It's not much but nice to see some movement.

[Anonymous User]

I love Milbank for pushing comp up and prestige is meaningless, but really don’t see Milbank breaking into DPW’s tier. The firm just doesn’t have enough partner talent across the board to be seen as or become a true peer of DPW, from DPW’s sightline.

"partner talent" fucking lol. That's the last thing impacting my vault vote.

[Anonymous User]

I love Milbank for pushing comp up and prestige is meaningless, but really don’t see Milbank breaking into DPW’s tier. The firm just doesn’t have enough partner talent across the board to be seen as or become a true peer of DPW, from DPW’s sightline.

"partner talent" fucking lol. That's the last thing impacting my vault vote.

My point is even Milbank to #1 on Vault this year still isn’t going to get us paid by papa DPW because Milbank isn’t ELITE in their eyes

[Anonymous User]

I think DPW has its own plan and is telling Milbank/the market in general that it follows no one. There will be raises and special bonuses forthcoming, and DPW will be the talk of the town. They just don't feel the need to go tit for tat with Milbank when they have a plan in place that exceeds current market.

Makes no sense to me. If the plan here is to stunt on Milbank, they're doing a poor job. I'm a DPW associate and am feeling pretty stunted on atm.

Sure, blowing Milbank out of the water in a few weeks would be nice, but will it fully unscramble the eggs that are my morale right now? Probably not, especially given the tone-deaf RTO plan announced amidst the comp silence.

I mean... at least for me, as much as I hate all this waiting, a re-raise plus a true-up would more than make up for it. I'd be happy to forgive and forget this month+ in limbo if it ended in another 10k a year.

[Anonymous User]

How much do we think Staci Zaretsky gets paid? Whatever the answer, it's too much.

[Anonymous User]

How much do we think Staci Zaretsky gets paid? Whatever the answer, it's too much.

Meh not a fan but let’s not shit on individuals, especially when they probably read this. And I know I sound like Staci’s mom writing this

[Anonymous User]

How much do we think Staci Zaretsky gets paid? Whatever the answer, it's too much.

Meh not a fan but let’s not shit on individuals, especially when they probably read this. And I know I sound like Staci’s mom writing this

Oh give me a break. The name could be replaced with any ABL writer and you knew that. No one has anything against Staci in particular.

[Anonymous User]

Would another V20 match move V10 to raise or simply match quicker? I know WH has matched but seems like that's the only V20.

side note: Milbank deserves to be V20 at the very least

[Anonymous User]

I think DPW has its own plan and is telling Milbank/the market in general that it follows no one. There will be raises and special bonuses forthcoming, and DPW will be the talk of the town. They just don't feel the need to go tit for tat with Milbank when they have a plan in place that exceeds current market.

Agree with the bolded -- part of the silence is DPW ostentatiously not giving a shit about Milbank (which is somewhat surprising but maybe that's the point). The rest of this post is ...optimistic.

I love Milbank for pushing comp up and prestige is meaningless, but really don’t see Milbank breaking into DPW’s tier. The firm just doesn’t have enough partner talent across the board to be seen as or become a true peer of DPW, from DPW’s sightline.

20 years ago, no one thought that Latham and Kirkland would break into DPW tier. I know many people here would claim they're still not, but that's mostly prestige whoring - everyone knows the work at both those shops are comparable to the work at DPW.

Milbank isn't just splashing money on associates - they've had some incredible lateral partner hiring from places like Cravath and Wachtell. Their PPP are already on the same tier as DPW/Cravath etc. and that's what helps attract lateral partners the most. I think they're on a very, very good trajectory to be DPW's peer in 10 years. Honestly, right now, it seems like going to Milbank is a good idea from an investment perspective. Buy low (I think the market perception on Milbank is lower than it should be), sell high (leave or try and make partner while it's still growing).

[Anonymous User]

Would another V20 match move V10 to raise or simply match quicker? I know WH has matched but seems like that's the only V20.

side note: Milbank deserves to be V20 at the very least

I think it's safe to say that Milbank will be v20 come next vault ranking. and it will see a resulting impact on recruiting (more t6 recruits for example).

[Anonymous User]

I think DPW has its own plan and is telling Milbank/the market in general that it follows no one. There will be raises and special bonuses forthcoming, and DPW will be the talk of the town. They just don't feel the need to go tit for tat with Milbank when they have a plan in place that exceeds current market.

Agree with the bolded -- part of the silence is DPW ostentatiously not giving a shit about Milbank (which is somewhat surprising but maybe that's the point). The rest of this post is ...optimistic.

I love Milbank for pushing comp up and prestige is meaningless, but really don’t see Milbank breaking into DPW’s tier. The firm just doesn’t have enough partner talent across the board to be seen as or become a true peer of DPW, from DPW’s sightline.

20 years ago, no one thought that Latham and Kirkland would break into DPW tier. I know many people here would claim they're still not, but that's mostly prestige whoring - everyone knows the work at both those shops are comparable to the work at DPW.

Milbank isn't just splashing money on associates - they've had some incredible lateral partner hiring from places like Cravath and Wachtell. Their PPP are already on the same tier as DPW/Cravath etc. and that's what helps attract lateral partners the most. I think they're on a very, very good trajectory to be DPW's peer in 10 years. Honestly, right now, it seems like going to Milbank is a good idea from an investment perspective. Buy low (I think the market perception on Milbank is lower than it should be), sell high (leave or try and make partner while it's still growing).

You make good points. They do have the cash to try to pull a Kirkland/Latham and will be fairly successful if they only get halfway there. I guess I just doubt that firms will be as successful buying up PE, debt finance, tax and exec comp talent now versus starting 5-10 years ago. Price is up and the V10 know to play defense now.

[NoLongerALurker]

I can’t actually rationalize or justify it, but am I the only one that finds it super cringey when people refer to associates and partners as “talent”?

[bigboybob]

Honestly, I'm starting to give up hope that the Milbank scale, or anything greater, will be market.

I wonder if this is what Neil wants?

Hes probably sitting up in his high rise NYC apartment cracking up a few lobster claws and dipping them in a mixture of butter and shredded hundred dollar bills...reading this tread and laughing at us all.

[Anonymous User]

You guys lionize Neil because DPW raised base pay one time .

[Anonymous User]

My partner told me today is the day!

You are beyond rude

[Anonymous User]

Would another V20 match move V10 to raise or simply match quicker? I know WH has matched but seems like that's the only V20.

side note: Milbank deserves to be V20 at the very least

I think it's safe to say that Milbank will be v20 come next vault ranking. and it will see a resulting impact on recruiting (more t6 recruits for example).

Milbank was already fairly selective at my t6 before the raises. A lot of qualified students didn't get callbacks.

[nahumya]

I can’t actually rationalize or justify it, but am I the only one that finds it super cringey when people refer to associates and partners as “talent”?

What term can be used instead? I thought "talent" is pretty standard in recruit-speak across all industries.

[Anonymous User]

Would another V20 match move V10 to raise or simply match quicker? I know WH has matched but seems like that's the only V20.

side note: Milbank deserves to be V20 at the very least

I think it's safe to say that Milbank will be v20 come next vault ranking. and it will see a resulting impact on recruiting (more t6 recruits for example).

Milbank was already fairly selective at my t6 before the raises. A lot of qualified students didn't get callbacks.

.

Really? They weren't incredibly selective from Penn.

[Anonymous User]

Looks like the Gunderson match (and raise for 2013s) is ATL official: https://abovethelaw.com/2022/02/gunderson-raise-2022/

It's not much but nice to see some movement.

Damn, associates in Ann Arbor are sitting pretty.

[Anonymous User]

Would another V20 match move V10 to raise or simply match quicker? I know WH has matched but seems like that's the only V20.

side note: Milbank deserves to be V20 at the very least

I think it's safe to say that Milbank will be v20 come next vault ranking. and it will see a resulting impact on recruiting (more t6 recruits for example).

Milbank was already fairly selective at my t6 before the raises. A lot of qualified students didn't get callbacks.

They took median or slightly above median candidates from my T6. A few people with strong GPAs ended up going to Milbank as well (by choice). No shade at all but some of my quirkier or more off-center/eccentric classmates ended up at Milbank.

[NoLongerALurker]

I can’t actually rationalize or justify it, but am I the only one that finds it super cringey when people refer to associates and partners as “talent”?

What term can be used instead? I thought "talent" is pretty standard in recruit-speak across all industries.

Yeah, I hear ya. For whatever reason I feel like it only works in the sports and entertainment industries, and in all other cases feels kinda cringe. But especially in law or other paper-pushing industries (like, I’d maybe balk for a second at calling a scientist talented, but I wouldn’t cringe at it the way I do for lawyers or accountants). Maybe I’m self-hating.

[Anonymous User]

Would another V20 match move V10 to raise or simply match quicker? I know WH has matched but seems like that's the only V20.

side note: Milbank deserves to be V20 at the very least

I think it's safe to say that Milbank will be v20 come next vault ranking. and it will see a resulting impact on recruiting (more t6 recruits for example).

Milbank was already fairly selective at my t6 before the raises. A lot of qualified students didn't get callbacks.

They took median or slightly above median candidates from my T6. A few people with strong GPAs ended up going to Milbank as well (by choice). No shade at all but some of my quirkier or more off-center/eccentric classmates ended up at Milbank.

this is the most attractive thing I've heard about milbank -- assuming you aren't just using quirky as a euphemism for aspie, law students and lawyers could generally use a little more quirk