Milbank Tweed pays its associates market salaries and awarded bonuses in 2008 at a half-Skadden Arps level.  Bonuses are lock-step and not tied to a billable hours requirement.

First-year associates participate in an orientation specific to their practice areas and attend practical courses taught by senior lawyers at the firm.  In addition, each practice group has regular meetings to discuss current topics and issues.  Following the first year of practice, associates attend a three-day "Gold Conference," where they learn new skills and interact with other first-year associates from each of the firm's other offices.  Similar conferences are held for fourth-year associates and seventh-year associates.  Typically, associates are responsible for finding their own work at the firm.  Associates are formally reviewed annually but receive ongoing feedback from partners and more senior associates.  The firm encourages associates to set goals for each year.  The firm also offers a formal mentoring program for first- though fourth-year associates.  In May 2009, the firm laid off 49 associates and 40 staff due to the economy.

Milbank Tweed does not have a stated minimum billable hours requirement, and associates are eligible for bonuses regardless of hours.  However, there may be "negative consequences" if associates "are perceived as lagging behind others in [their] group," according to one Lateral Link Member.  Another Member commented that although there is no stated minimum, it is understood "that [hours] in the range of 2,400 [are] expected."

Lateral Link Members agree that associates are expected to be in the office during normal working hours.  However, according to one Member, although "there is no 'face time' officially, in these [economic] times, partners go around and check to see when associates are and are not in."  Milbank Tweed provides its associates with four weeks of vacation.

Milbank Tweed counts pro bono hours towards billables, but since there is no minimum billable hours requirement at the firm, pro bono hours do not impact bonuses or compensation.

Milbank Tweed has a one-tier partnership track, and attorneys are generally up for consideration between their eighth and twelfth year of practice.  Lateral Link Members consider partnership a long shot, regardless of how hard they work.  Four attorneys were promoted to partner in 2008.

Incoming associates at Milbank Tweed receive a $10,000 salary advance, and the firm pays for BAR/BRI, PMBR, and bar exam fees.  New associates also receive a laptop and are eligible for a prorated bonus at the end of the year.  In addition to a comprehensive benefits package that includes pet insurance, the firm offers a technology subsidy, dinner reimbursement after 8:00 p.m., transportation home after 8:30 p.m., and a subsidized cafeteria in New York.

Lateral Link Members give high marks to Milbank's summer program for its attorneys who "take time to teach and explain before giving an assignment" and for the opportunity to do "real work" and have "real interaction with both partners and senior associates." The firm usually operates summer programs in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., but it has announced it will be cancelling the 2010 summer program in Los Angeles.  Summer associates in New York and Los Angeles typically rotate through at least three or four practice groups, while summer associates in Washington, DC, work on assignments in all practice groups. Assignments are managed by a coordinator within each department, and summer associates are expected to complete 10 to 15 assignments during the 10-week summer program. Lateral Link Members report that assignments are "challenging, substantive, and interesting," even if the hours are "occasionally long." The firm encourages summer associates to participate in weekly CLE sessions and other trainings, and each department presents an introductory session on their practice area to the summers. Summer associates are provided with BlackBerrys, but Lateral Link Members report that weekend work for summer associates is uncommon and they generally leave the office by 6:00 p.m. during the week. Summer associates can attend an unlimited number of attorney lunches, for which the firm provides a $45 budget. Other social events are held twice a week and include hotel cocktail hours and a tour of the New York Stock Exchange. The start date for the class of 2009 has been pushed to January 2010, with the firm offering new associates a $10,000 deferral stipend.