{"id":853,"date":"2014-09-02T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-09-02T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/?p=853"},"modified":"2014-10-07T11:07:14","modified_gmt":"2014-10-07T15:07:14","slug":"new-lessons-from-bingham-mccutchen-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/09\/02\/new-lessons-from-bingham-mccutchen-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"New Lessons from Bingham McCutchen Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

HLS case study \u201cBingham McCutchen: Combinatorial Mathematics<\/a>\u201d made the news recently, as law firm Bingham McCutchen faces challenges following a series of partner departures. Citing the case study for its depiction of Bingham\u2019s growth trajectory, the Am Law Daily<\/a> reports that Bingham posted its worst financial performance in 2013, which some at the firm attribute to contracts guaranteed to attorneys in connection with a 2009 merger with McKee Nelson. According to the Am Law article, guaranteed contracts had succeeded in previous mergers that Bingham pursued, but met opposition when Bingham honored McKee\u2019s closed compensation system for the duration of the guarantees. As financial performance dipped, legacy Bingham attorneys reportedly wanted more transparency about compensation guaranteed to attorneys brought in from McKee. A wave of departures ensued.<\/p>\n

The Bingham case study, authored by former HLS Professor Ashish Nanda, chronicles the firm\u2019s series of \u201ccombinations,\u201d or mergers, that transformed Bingham from a \u201cmiddle-of-the-downtown-pack\u201d Boston law firm in the early 1990s to a preeminent international law firm by 2010. While these mergers led to phenomenal growth for Bingham, they also had downsides: there was some attrition, gripes about cultural change, and a nagging difficulty attracting lateral hires. The case ends with the McKee Nelson deal, the tenth merger that managing partner Jay Zimmerman pursued since his election in 1994.<\/p>\n

Now, looking back five years, the case is an opportunity to reflect critically on the past and consider strategies for damage control at present. What about the 2013 guarantees was problematic? What risks from its growth strategy surfaced recently and how might Bingham have better addressed these concerns?<\/p>\n

Moreover, on June 1<\/a>, 2014, Zimmerman relinquished day-to-day management of Bingham, ending what one Bingham employee called a \u201cbenevolent dictatorship.\u201d How might the firm manage the leadership transition and its institutional culture? Was Bingham\u2019s success a one-man operation, or might this be the change that Bingham needs to survive?<\/p>\n

\u201cBingham McCutchen: Combinatorial Mathematics\u201d is available from the HLS Case Studies website. Free educator copies are available for faculty and staff at non-profit institutions. For more information, or to discuss how to adapt the case study for your academic or professional education needs, contact Lisa Brem, Case Studies Program Manager, at <\/em>lbrem@law.harvard.edu<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HLS case study \u201cBingham McCutchen: Combinatorial Mathematics\u201d made the news recently, as law firm Bingham McCutchen faces challenges following a series of partner departures. Citing the case study for its depiction of Bingham\u2019s growth trajectory, the Am Law Daily reports … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5482,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88578,88574],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-development-initiative-blog-posts","category-legal-news-and-debate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4CR8M-dL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":446,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/06\/18\/financial-management-case-studies-at-columbia-law-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":853,"position":0},"title":"Financial Management Case Studies at Columbia Law School","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"June 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rachel Gibson Columbia Law School launches a new course this fall, Law Firm Financial Management, co-taught by Madhav Srinivasan, Director in Finance at Paul Weiss, and Dr. Silvia Hodges, Director of Research Services at TyMetrix Legal Analytics. The course will prepare students who are planning to enter the profession\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/files\/2013\/06\/Silvia-Hodges-June-2013-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":498,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2013\/08\/06\/conversation-starters-case-studies-for-curricular-reform\/","url_meta":{"origin":853,"position":1},"title":"Conversation Starters: Case Studies for Curricular Reform","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"August 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In April, Dean Jeremy Paul of the Northeastern University School of Law and co-managing partner Alan Klinger of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan wrote for the New York Law Journal about legal curricular reform.\u00a0 Paul and Klinger outline seven improvements to current legal training, and we at the Case Studies\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Development Initiative Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Development Initiative Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-development-initiative-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/12\/16\/case-studies-greatest-hits\/","url_meta":{"origin":853,"position":2},"title":"Case Studies Greatest Hits","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"December 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As the year comes to a close, we\u2019d like to share our greatest hits of 2014. Do you have our top cases and role plays yet? Top Three New Cases of 2014: Sue the Consumer: Digital Copyright in the New Millennium (FREE) An Advanced Problem Solving Workshop background note about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Study Program Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Case Study Program Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/category\/case-study-program-blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1047,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2015\/12\/08\/reforming-partner-compensation-at-mattos-filho\/","url_meta":{"origin":853,"position":3},"title":"Reforming Partner Compensation at Mattos Filho","author":"","date":"December 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Case Development Initiative (CDI) at Harvard Law School recently debuted a new case study on the HLS Case Studies website. CDI is a program that develops role plays and case studies based on strategic and organizational issues faced by those in the law and other professional settings. These cases\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":729,"url":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/hlscasestudies\/2014\/03\/25\/check-out-our-menu-makeover\/","url_meta":{"origin":853,"position":4},"title":"Check Out Our Menu Makeover!","author":"Elizabeth Moroney","date":"March 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Better Browsing and Ready-to-Teach Units on HLS Case Studies Site The Case Studies Program is piloting new website features to help customers explore our offerings. Now, visitors can browse by product type: discussion-based case study, workshop-based case study, role play, DVD, international materials, and free materials. 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