Milbank vs. Paul Hastings vs. Willkie (NY) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Each one of these firms has been my favorite at different points in this process so I'm at a loss. I'm interested in litigation, but want to keep my options open too. Not interested in prestige in the short term, but definitely interested to hear any difference in exit options that these firms may offer 5-7 years down the road. In the short term, I'm most interested in culture and the ability to work 5+ years at this firm without feeling suicidal. Any difference in substantive work/exit options among these three firms, or is this purely a "fit" choice?

[Anonymous User]

Paul Hastings is my vote.

[Anonymous User]

On it's face, I would say Milbank, but if your interest is litigation, Milbank is probably not the best place.

[911 crisis actor]

PH seems to be on a roll lately and they've also seemed to cleaned up their no offer antics

Downside is their NY office is just a branch and isn't as heavyweight as Milbank or Willkie

Go with your gut

[Anonymous User]

For litigation, I'd say willkie. their vault ranking is not commensurate with their litigation practice. paul hastings is just kind of there w/o any specialty so i guess you can't go wrong. milbank is definitely more finance, bankrutpcy, and transnational work.

[Anonymous User]

Re: Milbank's litigation reputation: it's actually in a higher Chambers band (Elite 3) for General Commercial Lit than Willkie, though the difference is negligible. Assuming Milbank and Willkie actually have equally strong litigation practices, is Milbank's reputation as a corporate-oriented firm enough to effect exit options?

[Anonymous User]

Going in-house litigation is hard because there are so few jobs. I don't think corporate reputation of the firm will affect it.

[Anonymous User]

Milbank just seriously shored up their lit bench. A lot of their work is IP, but they do a fair amount of general commercial, breach, securities lit and they're obviously expanding their white collar/reg defense capabilities with Cannellos and the woman they just poached from SDNY.

I'm deciding between MTHM and Willkie as well, and this decision is causing me some serious headache.

EDIT: Also, if you want to try your hand at finance work, there are very few places that are at this caliber, and their Vault ranking doesn't come close to doing them justice. Their lev fin group closes some really high profile transactions, and counts CS, Barclays, and GS as their biggest clients. Lat Am is also really prominent to the firm, especially in the PF arena, where they are hands down one of the best in New York, if not the best.

[Anonymous User]

Milbank hands down

Edit: Or PH if you want Lit

[Anonymous User]

Milbank hands down

Edit: Or PH if you want Lit

Mind explaining?

[Anonymous User]

Milbank hands down

Edit: Or PH if you want Lit

Mind explaining?

Yea sure. And I meant to correct what I said above, my brain was thinking "Lit" but I meant to write L&E

PH has the best Lit department out of the three. Unfortunately, they are making 1st year associates share offices which may hint at other types of trouble within the firm (although I still think PH is operating healthily).

Milbank, as mentioned above, just bolstered their Lit practice with a few partner defections from other firms. Both Milbank and PH are Band 2-3 litigation firms while Willkie is Band 4.

Milbank is the clear choice here for litigation opportunities. The client list is significantly better (Chambers lists major clients) and the practice is looking to grow at Milbank.

~The reason that you have the most votes for Willkie is probably because people didn't read that you wanted Lit. In the grand scheme of things, you can't go wrong with either 3, but Willkie would not be a place I would go to start a Lit career over Milbank or PH.

[Anonymous User]

any other thoughts on milbank vs willkie? Anything on the differences in culture/exit options/litigation practice in general?

Trying to figure it out now and having a hard time deciding

[Anonymous User]

any other thoughts on milbank vs willkie? Anything on the differences in culture/exit options/litigation practice in general?

Trying to figure it out now and having a hard time deciding

I am also considering Milbank, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Milbank is really bolstering its lit practice group with the recent additions of Cannellos and Apps. I would expect them to continue to poach major players and grow the practice across offices. The lit associates I met with all seemed very busy and like there was always work to be done, which was something I was worried about in terms of getting billables.

And from what I've heard, culture at Milbank comes down to the practice group. It seems that the practice groups are pretty tight knit and keep to themselves, so some have fantastic cultures, others not so much. That's something you would take note of during rotations.

[Anonymous User]

Every firm shared offices in NYC.

[Anonymous User]

Every firm shared offices in NYC.

Totally this. Pretty sure even 2nd years at Willkie share offices. Milbank you get an office after your first year unless your practice group is bombed out and depleted....which no practice group is. Except maybe like...T&E.

[Anonymous User]

There are lots of good reasons to pick any one of these firms, but I'm going with Willkie! Thanks for all of the input and best of luck to those of you making a similar choice.

[Anonymous User]

There are lots of good reasons to pick any one of these firms, but I'm going with Willkie! Thanks for all of the input and best of luck to those of you making a similar choice.

FWIW i was making the same decision and ultimately chose Milbank. All three great firms though!

[Kratos]

There are lots of good reasons to pick any one of these firms, but I'm going with Willkie! Thanks for all of the input and best of luck to those of you making a similar choice.

FWIW i was making the same decision and ultimately chose Milbank. All three great firms though!

I'm pretty sure (s)he probably made a decision like 2 months ago.

[Manhattan]

There are lots of good reasons to pick any one of these firms, but I'm going with Willkie! Thanks for all of the input and best of luck to those of you making a similar choice.

FWIW i was making the same decision and ultimately chose Milbank. All three great firms though!

I'm pretty sure (s)he probably made a decision like 2 months ago.

Good catch... I was wondering how someone was still considering offers at this stage in the game, and didn't notice the dates. Ugh at people randomly necroing threads.