Milbank Spread The Wealth Through Salary Increases Because 2023 Was A Record Financial Year For The Firm

// Perhaps you’ve been wondering why Milbank decided to raise salaries to a $225K baseline after what many other firms may have described as a difficult year, complete with associate layoffs and deferrals.

We’ll give you a little hint: it’s because Milbank’s financials went sky high in 2023, which proved to be a record year for the firm. The American Lawyer has additional details on the firm’s success:

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Milbank … grew its revenue by 17.8% to $1.514 billion in 2023 while its profits per equity partner jumped 18.6% to $5.114 million ….

Even as its full-time equivalent head count grew about 8% to 912 lawyers, Milbank’s revenue per lawyer was up 9.5% to $1.66 million. With the firm keeping its equity partner ranks mostly flat, its total net income jumped 20% to $846.6 million. Meanwhile, the firm saw 51% growth in its nonequity partner ranks.

In an interview with Am Law, Scott Edelman, Milbank’s chair, spoke of what drove the firm’s performance last year, saying, “It’s not just a one-story thing. Basically, the entire firm was up. Our lawyers were just generally busier across the firm.”

Milbank had several practices that were “really busy,” including its private equity practice and its energy and infrastructure practice (“especially renewables,” according to Edelman). The firm’s restructuring practice and litigation practice also saw big gains in 2023.

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Watch out, Biglaw world, because Edelman says Milbank is going strong in 2024 as well. “Things are super busy going into this year,” he said. Will there be yet another salary increase led by Milbank at the end of the year? That remains to be seen — and it would be the third year in a row that Biglaw would see a compensation hike — but we’ll be there to cover the exciting news if and when it happens.

Milbank’s Revenue Jumps 18% as Profits Soar 19% and Nonequity Tier Grows [American Lawyer]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Biglaw, Bonus News Alerts, Milbank, Money