Abstract

The case outlines Bingham’s evolution from a “middle-of-the-downtown-pack” Boston law firm in the early 1990s to a preeminent international law firm by 2010. Bingham achieved this transformation by following a strategy of sequential mergers, or “combinations” in the firm’s parlance. The case describes the approach firm management took to initiate and integrate these combinations, and ends with a question as to what the firm’s future trajectory might be.

Learning Objectives

The case allows participants to explore the positives and negatives of following a strategy of inorganic growth in professional service firms (PSFs); identification, negotiation, and post-merger integration in case of acquisition of PSFs; the challenge of alignment in a firm that is growing through mergers; and the challenge of leading a firm as it becomes larger and more complex.

Subjects Covered

Mergers and Acquisitions, Change Management, Strategy Formulation

Setting

Geographic: United States

Industry: Law Firm

Event Year Begin: 1990s