The Power of One

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.