Milbank Tweed Forum: What They Don't Teach You in Law School

Even as law schools have stepped up the amount of practical training in their curriculums, newly minted JDs seldom start their careers “practice ready.” As Cravath states on its website, “When law school ends, the next phase of legal education begins.” Firms have varying approaches to professional development, ranging from Wachtell Lipton’s extensive inhouse training to Milbank’s Milbank@Harvard program for midlevel and senior associates. At Paul, Weiss, the training goes beyond substantive law practice, to cover matters like time management, presentation skills, and client etiquette and expectations.

Representatives from major firms described how they mold lawyers and discussed what students might do in law school to get a leg up, and whether law schools should be doing more on this front.

PANELISTS:
Valerie Radwaner ’87, Deputy Chair and Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Sabrina Ursaner ’10, Director of Practice Management, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
David Wolfson, Partner and Chair of Professional Development Committee, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy

MODERATOR:
Helen Scott, Professor of Law and CoDirector of the Jacobson Leadership Program in Law and Business

This event took place on November 5, 2014.