The thought of returning to law school just a few years after graduation would fill many young lawyers with dread. But for midlevel associates Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, a unique training program at Harvard Law School has become a prized rite of passage.

“Law school doesn't give you what you really need to know as a transactional lawyer,” said David Wolfson, a corporate M&A partner at the firm who chairs its professional development committee. The Milbank@Harvard program, Wolfson said, fills in the gaps for young corporate lawyers and litigators alike, teaching practical business of law lessons beyond theory and practice.

At the same time, the program has helped to build greater camaraderie and trust among lawyers spread across a dozen Milbank offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, Wolfson said.