Paul Hastings or Milbank [ny] Forum

[Anonymous User]

Please don't quote.

Picking between PH and Milbank. Seemed to click more with the people I met at PH, but I've read a lot of negative about the firm here on TLS.

Not sure if I want to do lit or transactional. Both are NYC.

[Sadnessandmisfortune]

Take everything you read on TLS with a grain of salt. People don't really come here to make appreciation posts. That being said, I say go with where you think you might be happiest. What I've heard about the firms (which isn't much): PH's employment practice is struggling which has led to an uncomfortable work environment, but other departments seem fine. Milbank is nice, but people tend to keep to themselves and stay in their offices.

I'd suggest going in for a second look if you're local and observe how people interact with each other. If it seems like they're friendly, how they interact with support staff, if you see people chatting in the hall or a communal space. I've found that to be more telling of the work environment than the actual interview where everyone puts their best foot forward.

[CiFULA]

really consider if u would be okay with ph's office layout. i guess some might like it but i tend to like having my own office, or at least a shared 2 person office. i would imagine if everyone is fielding calls around u in the bullpen layout while ur trying to concentrate on something, it could be distracting. although maybe that's not that noticeable :shrug: also once u graduate from the bullpen, u get clear offices..

altho milbank is getting new offices (has new offices?). don't know what those are like so if it's basically the same thing as ph's setup then nvm.

[Anonymous User]

Unless you have a particularly compelling reason to go to PH, I would choose Milbank. I wouldn't base your assessment on the people you clicked with during your interviews. I think Milbank would provide a better start, better exit options, more prestige. Basically, on paper, I think Milbank is the better option.

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

Milbank is the clear choice here.

[Anonymous User]

Milbank is the clear choice here.

OP Here. Could you explain why? Everyone that I have spoken with has said "they're both great choices."

[smokeylarue]

Milbank and not even close. Milbank has no billable hours requirement for bonus. That alone makes it no contest. Aside from that, Paul Hastings has a bad culture (at least in CA offices).

[DoveBodyWash]

Milbank is the clear choice here.

OP Here. Could you explain why? Everyone that I have spoken with has said "they're both great choices."

Everyone you have spoken with is wrong. I think this one of those situations where culture shouldn’t matter. Milbank is based here. Unless PH NY does something unique that I haven’t heard about, every practice at Milbank will be deeper. I suspect the ppl you’re asking just don’t know enough abt either firm and are defaulting to “both good firms you can’t go wrong”

[Anonymous User]

Milbank is the clear choice here.

OP Here. Could you explain why? Everyone that I have spoken with has said "they're both great choices."

Milbank’s one of the traditional Wall Street firms, is highly profitable, has a deep bench of clients, and has no billable requirement. It’s not on the same level as Cravath, S+C, DPW, etc. but I can’t see any reason to pick a non-NY firm with a NY office over it (Latham and Kirkland are the exceptions) unless that firm has a specific practice group that you want to do that is more highly regarded than Milbank’s group in that area.

It’s not that PH is a bad choice necessarily but Milbank’s got enough of a reputation edge on it in New York that you’d have to have a really good reason to pick PH here (liking the people you met on your callback isn’t really enough of a reason, IMO).

[Anonymous User]

What if there were a desire to lateral to CA down the road after a few years? Does that change the calculus?

[Anonymous User]

based on this site, paul hastings' ca offices in particular have a reputation for being toxic places to work. not even sure how they have been holding onto the #1 spot for midlevel satisfaction in the past, not that those surveys mean anything. id rather go to milbank ca than ph

[Anonymous User]

Bumping this up as I am in the exact same position as the original poster. Would love to hear more about these two firms!

[Anonymous User]

What if there were a desire to lateral to CA down the road after a few years? Does that change the calculus?

My understanding is that Milbank LA holds its own. They don't have a Bay Area office, though, so depends on where in CA you're interested in. But even then, it would not be impossible by any means to lateral from Milbank NY to the big players in the Bay (MoFo, WSGR, Cooley, etc), which I would take in a heartbeat over Paul Hastings SF.

[Anonymous User]

Bump.

any more insights? I noticed that the bad news regarding paul hastings is a little old. Do they still have a terrible culture in LA? How about NY?

[Anonymous User]

Bump.

any more insights? I noticed that the bad news regarding paul hastings is a little old. Do they still have a terrible culture in LA? How about NY?

I think Milbank is the right answer here. But I don't know that much about PH.

[Anonymous User]

I am an associate in one of Milbank’s finance groups. It’s overall a very solid place to be. I like the folks in my group, we do interesting work, training actually happens, the restructuring group is a great hedge when the economy is shaky, and there is no hours minimum/funny business over bonuses. In your case, you will probably want to split your summer rotations across litigation and two transactional groups (assuming you didn’t apply for the litigation track). If you decide to go the transactional route, the first year rotation is really helpful in finding a group that you mesh with and is therefore more sustainable. I encourage you to arrange for a second look to meet a few more people. My colleagues really are a good bunch overall. I can also try to answer specific questions if you have any.

PH has a 2k hours requirement, which is a big strike against it. Anecdotally, nobody in my law school class that started at PH is still there. In the NY transactional space, I don’t think there is anything that PH does a lot better than Milbank.