When the partners at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy gather with their spouses and significant others next week for their scheduled resort retreat, they will hear the annual state of the firm speech delivered by a new firm chair for the first time since 1996.

Scott Edelman, 49, a litigator and the newly elected chair, will address his partners, replacing Mel Immergut, 66, the longest serving head of any Am Law 100 firm in New York.