Corey Carmello, Class of ’17 Valedictorian, Heads to Milbank

Corey Carmello, valedictorian of Albany Law School’s Class of 2017, will begin his career this September at the international firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York City.

Carmello grew up in Latham, N.Y. and has lived in the Capital Region for most of his life. He enjoyed staying local during his academic career, having a support system already in place, and being able to stay active as a volunteer firefighter.

However, “he couldn’t be more excited for the change of pace”—since the moment he entered their building, he knew Milbank was the right place for him.

“I was struck by the intelligence and passion of the lawyers at Milbank,” Carmello said, “and I am eager to work with them in helping to resolve cutting-edge legal issues for the firm’s clients.”

He will be working on a variety of legal issues—and in many areas of the law—in Milbank’s litigation department, alongside Kevin Maggio, a 2015 Albany Law alumnus who served as Carmello’s mentor while he was a summer associate.

“I’m fortunate enough to be able to start my career working with some of the brightest the law has to offer, and I want to take full advantage of that,” he said.

He will be based out of the firm’s Manhattan headquarters. Milbank also has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Seoul.

Prior to attending Albany Law, Carmello studied Political Science and Spanish at the University at Albany.

“I’m fortunate enough to be able to start my career working with some of the brightest the law has to offer.”

“I was always intrigued by the academic aspect of being a lawyer—learning every day about new legal issues and applying both research and critical thinking skills to resolve them,” said Carmello, who once dreamed of a career in law enforcement.

He joined UAlbany’s pre-law organization during his junior year. Through that experience, speaking with law students and lawyers, he was able to learn about law school and the many opportunities that it provided.

“Just being around like-minded people with similar goals kept me motivated,” he said.

Another strong influence on Carmello’s decision to go to law school was Dr. James Acker, a professor at UAlbany. Carmello took his Criminal Law class and fell in love with the problem-solving aspect of the law.

“I found that the challenge of knowing the law well enough to apply it to a brand new fact pattern was something I genuinely enjoyed and wanted more of,” he said.

At Albany Law School, Carmello served as an editor for the Albany Law Review and as a teaching assistant. At Milbank, he hopes to continue learning every day, and plans to take advantage of every available opportunity.

When asked about his plans for the future, Carmello responded, “At this point. I am focused on working hard and doing the best that I can at Milbank. I hope to find myself working on projects that are both challenging and rewarding, and that allow me to apply the skills and knowledge that I acquired at Albany Law School to best assist my co-workers and our clients.”