After months of partner departures, a leadership change and a vow to reverse its financial fortunes after a disastrous 2013, Bingham McCutchen’s management has announced to its partnership a plan to merge with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, according to a handful of sources knowledgeable about the matter.
The potential union, which had been rumored for weeks but does not yet include a letter of intent, must still be approved by the partnerships of both firms. Bingham’s new managing partner Steven Browne informed partners of the tie-up plan in a prerecorded voicemail Friday, one of several periodic updates he has made on the firm’s outlook since assuming day-to-day control of the firm on June 1 from former chairman Jay Zimmerman.
