Jay Zimmerman, chairman of Bingham, has led the firm during a period of significant growth that has placed it in the top echelon of U.S. law firms. In building Bingham’s national and international platforms, Jay has successfully adapted many of the value-creation and merger and acquisition strategies of traditional corporations to law-firm management, combining strategic discipline with a decisive approach to emerging opportunities.
Jay joined legacy firm Bingham Dana & Gould in 1982, headed its London office for seven years and was elected managing partner in 1994. Recognizing that the needs of clients and the dynamics of the legal marketplace were changing, he initiated a strategy to expand beyond the firm’s regional base and diversify its practice portfolio.
Since 1997, execution of the firm’s strategy has resulted in a series of transactions that have transformed Bingham from a Boston-based regional firm with three small satellite offices to an industry leader with 13 offices worldwide, more than quadrupled its size to 1,100 lawyers, and increased its revenue eight-fold. Each combination has added specific, well-defined capabilities, strengthened the firm financially and laid the groundwork for further expansion. These transactions have included:
- McKee Nelson, a highly regarded national firm in the areas of tax, capital markets and financial institutions litigation (2009)
- New Tokyo International, a premier insolvency, corporate and litigation firm in Japan (2007)
- Alschuler Grossman, a Southern California firm with a reputation for handling high-stakes, high-profile litigation (2007)
- Sakai & Mimura, a leading financial restructuring and M&A firm in Tokyo (2007)
- Swidler Berlin, a prominent Washington, D.C.-based firm well known for its strength in telecommunications, media and technology; government affairs; real estate/structured finance; and environmental law (2006)
- Riordan & McKinzie, Southern California’s premier corporate and private equity boutique (2003)
- McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, one of the West Coast’s leading litigation firms (2002)
- Richards & O’Neil, a highly regarded Manhattan firm with a strong corporate and real estate practice (2001)
- Hebb & Gitlin, a Hartford, Conn., firm with a top-tier position in international financial restructuring and insolvency (1999)
- Marks & Murase’s Japanese practice, known for its complex cross-border work involving Japan (1997)
Equally important, the firm has carefully sustained a distinctive set of core values during this period of intense growth, values that its attorneys and staff have articulated as “a passion for our work, respect for one another and a commitment to our firm, our clients, our profession and our community.” Bingham was named one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
During Jay’s tenure, Bingham also has been a leader in embracing the concept of multidisciplinary practices, and has established a highly successful subsidiary business known as Bingham Consulting Group.
Jay began his career in 1980 with Debevoise & Plimpton in New York.
- View from the Top, The New York Legal Market Conference, Sandpiper Partners, New York, N.Y. (2010)
- Keynote speaker, Great Places to Work Conference, Miami, Fla. (2009)
- What Works Best in a Rapidly Expanding, Competitive Market, Successful Law Firm Expansion in New York City Conference, Sandpiper Partners, New York, N.Y. (2007)
- Mergers: Identification, Negotiation and Integration, Successful Law Firm Expansion in New York City Conference, Sandpiper Partners, New York, N.Y. (2007)
- Deal or No Deal: Case Analysis and Group Discussion Led by Industry Experts, The Managing Partners’ Forum, New York, N.Y. (2006)
- Marketing and Business Development, Law Firm Leaders Forum, Glasser Legalworks, San Francisco, Calif. (2006)
- Comprehensive Attorney Performance Management Systems, National Association for Law Placement Conference, San Francisco, Calif. (2006)
- USA Trends: If It’s Happening in America, How Soon Will It Be Coming to Europe?, The Lawyer Legal Summit, Barcelona, Spain (2005)
- Merger Update, Law Firm Leaders Forum, Glasser Legalworks, San Francisco, Calif. (2005)
- Responding to Market Developments: Large Multijurisdictional Law Firms, Law Firm Leaders Forum, Glasser Legalworks, San Francisco, Calif. (2004)
- Law Firm Capital and Debt: How to Build Necessary Capital, Law Firm Leaders Forum, Glasser Legalworks, San Francisco, Calif. (2004)
- Strategic Marketing in the Consolidating Marketplace: Leaders of Global, National, Regional Firms Explain New 2004 Growth and Marketing Strategies, Marketing Partner Forum, Orlando, Fla. (2004)
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Doing the Right Deal at the Right Time, Law Firm Leadership Institute, Northstar Conferences, New York, N.Y. (2004)
- Running a Tight Ship: Professionals Who Handle the Internal Recruitment Process, The Law Firm Lateral Partner Recruitment & Retention Summit, Northstar Conferences, New York, N.Y. (2004)
- Keynote panel member, Reacting to the Changing Marketplace: Consolidation and Change, Marketing and Selling in Uncertain Times, Marketing Partner Forum, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (2003)
- Merger, Acquisitions, Groups: Takes from the Front Lines, Marketing Partner Forum, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (2003)
- Keynote speaker, M&A Growth Strategies & Insights, Association For Corporate Growth, Boston Chapter, Boston, Mass. (2003)
- Approaches to Growth: Organic, Laterals and Mergers, Fulcrum Leadership Conference, San Francisco, Calif. (2003)
- Selected as one of the 35 most influential judges and lawyers of the past 35 years by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- Recipient of 2007 Justice Award from the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School
- Named to The Lawyer magazine’s “Hot 100 Lawyers shaping the law in 2006”
- 2005 Burton Award for Legal Writing
- Board of Directors, Foundation for the National Archives
- American Bar Association
- Boston Bar Association
- International Bar Association
- Admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New York
- Registered Foreign Lawyer in England and Wales
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
- Harvard Law School, Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1980
- Harvard College, Artis Baccalaureate, 1976