Roughly speaking, there are two theories of history: That
people shape events, or that events shape people.
As a confirmed subscriber to the former theory, this American
Lawyer profile of
Bingham-McCutchen’s chair, Jay Zimmerman, tells the tale to me
of what a decisive leader can accomplish. Indeed, I don’t
even read it as a profile of the firm; I read it as a profile of
Zimmerman. (Clarification time-out: Always remember
that this is a blog about the economics of law
firms, not about law practice per se—so my focus on Zimmerman
reflects my perspective going in, and that perspective has nothing
to do with the accomplished, astute, perspicacious, and innovative
lawyers practicing at Bingham—not, anyway, unless they have
a senior role in management.)
Zimmerman became chair in 1994, winning a contested election when
the previous managing partner abruptly took early retirement with
no succession plans in place. "Bingham, Dana & Gould," as it
was then, was nearly on the rocks. Fully one-third of its
business came from a single client (Bank of Boston, now long gone
and a part of the Bank of America empire), and morale was sliding. A
few years later, with the firm on more solid footing thanks to savvy
lateral hiring at its weak Washington, DC, and Hartford offices,
it began a measured regional expansion—without
grandiose plans, or even an articulated strategy—taking advantage
of opportunities as they arose.
The real change came of course in 2001 with its merger with McCutchen-Doyle
of San Francisco (of which more anon), but here are the numbers. From
1999 to 2003, Bingham:
- more than tripled its revenue;
- rose from #81 to #26 on the AmLaw 100, faster than any other
firm; - and today has revenue of $565-million, 850 lawyers, and 11 offices.
Zimmerman’s goal from here? “To become
the best national firm in five to seven years.” And
he just might pull it off, given his track record of decisiveness. For
example, when he was negotiating to acquire LA’s Riordan & McKinzie
in 2003, an unfunded retirement plan liability had required endless
negotiation and number-crunching by other firms who had held talks
with Riordan. For Zimmerman? Within
10 minutes, he agreed that Bingham would simply assume the liability. And
this is not a pose: At a firm-wide retreat at the Bellagio
in Las Vegas in early 2003, a Bingham partner made a crude and
offensive presentation involving superimposing the heads of female
partners on Dobermans (from the firm’s ad campaign at the time). Zimmerman
immediately took the stage and denounced the presentation, and
got a written apology from the partner distributed to all hands
the next day.
Bingham under Zimmerman is run on as close to a corporate model
as any firm remotely its size. Not an accident, and Zimmerman
is not a man shaped by events. He’s a man shaping events.
