Bingham named to FORTUNE’s ‘100 Best Companies’ list, again
Firm ranks among top 50, rises significantly in rankings and marks fourth year on list
Bingham has been named for the fourth straight year to FORTUNE magazine’s 11th annual “100 Best Companies to Work For,” one of only five law firms nationally to make the list.
Bingham ranked No. 16 on the small-company list, up eight from last year, and No. 41 on the list of all 100 companies, up from 94th on the 2007 list. Small companies are classified as those with fewer than 2,500 employees.
“To be named to the FORTUNE list for the fourth straight year reflects Bingham’s spirit and commitment to fostering a positive work environment,” said Bingham Chairman Jay Zimmerman. “We take great pride in investing in our people to cultivate growth and success. The best people are the building blocks of the best firms.”
FORTUNE noted Bingham’s commitment to diversity as a key factor in the firm’s selection to the list. Bingham’s workforce is 65 percent female, and minorities make up 32 percent of the firm. FORTUNE also noted that Bingham has a nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and offers domestic-partner benefits for same-sex couples.
Bingham made the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list after another record year of growth. In May 2007, Bingham combined with the 40-lawyer high-stakes litigation firm Alschuler Grossman of Santa Monica, Calif. The firm also made a commitment to serving clients in Asia in 2007, combining with the Tokyo insolvency and corporate firms Sakai & Mimura and New Tokyo International Law Office, and opening a Hong Kong office.
FORTUNE’s recognition is the latest acknowledgement of Bingham’s exemplary work environment. In September 2007, the Los Angeles Business Journal ranked Bingham’s Los Angeles and Santa Monica offices No. 7 on its “Best Places to Work” list. Bingham also was the only large law firm named to the Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” list for 2007, ranking fifth. In August 2007, Working Mother magazine named Bingham one of the top 50 law firms for working mothers and flex-time lawyers.
The 2008 list will appear in FORTUNE’s Feb. 4 issue, available on newsstands Jan. 28 and at www.fortune.com on Jan. 22.
To pick the “100 Best Companies to Work for,” FORTUNE works with Robert Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Of some 1,500 firms that were contacted, 406 companies participated in this year’s survey. Nearly 100,000 employees at those companies responded to a 57-question survey created by the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research and consulting firm with offices in 30 countries. Most of the company’s score (two-thirds) is based on the results of the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to their attitudes about the management’s credibility, job satisfaction and camaraderie. The other third of the scoring is based on the company’s responses to the Institute’s Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about hiring practices, methods of internal communications, training, recognition programs and diversity efforts, etc. After evaluations are completed, if news about a company comes to light that may significantly damage employees’ faith in management, that company may be excluded from the list.
Bingham McCutchen LLP – www.bingham.com – is a national law firm with global capabilities, with nearly 1,000 attorneys in 13 offices. The firm represents clients in cross-border restructurings and insolvencies, high-stakes litigation, complex financing and regulatory matters, government affairs, and a wide variety of sophisticated corporate and technology transactions.