Frankfort, KY – A Boston-based international law firm with 1,000 attorneys and 900 additional staff plans to bring a shared-services center to Lexington. Bingham McCutchen LLP’s installation at UK’s Coldstream Research Campus will add at least 250 jobs to Lexington’s economy.
Bingham, as the firm is branded, currently maintains 14 offices worldwide and current staff will be able to keep their positions by relocating to Lexington. The jobs vacated by those unwilling to move to Lexington will be filled locally.
The Lexington operation will consolidate administrative support staff positions from areas such as finance and accounting, human resources, information technology, knowledge services, marketing, operations and risk management, the firm has stated.
Administrative functions in Lexington are anticipated to start in April while growing to full capacity over the following 12-24 months, according a document Bingham provided the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) board. The jobs will pay an average of $37 an hour, totaling $76,960 per year including employee benefits – based on a 40-hour work week.
“The client is being purposely conservative” with the 250 jobs estimate, according to Mark Klender of Deloitte who has consulted the firm on the move.
Bingham selected Lexington because of its workforce, academic community and quality of life, among other factors, Bingham Chief Operating Officer L. Tracee Whitley said in a release from the law firm.
While the plans are contingent on pending local and state economic incentives, the firm has committed $22.5 million to a former IBM building on the Coldstream Campus and has signed a 10-year lease.
KEDFA preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $6.5 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets. The KEDFA board approved a 3 percent incentive on the firms Kentucky taxes. On Thursday the Lexington Urban County Council will consider a 1 percent incentive and permitting exemptions, according to Kevin Atkins, the mayor’s chief development officer.
Initially Deloitte and Bingham looked at 300 metropolitan areas, according to Klender and narrowed it down to three. Klender told the KEDFA board that those other two cities, both of which were significantly larger than Lexington, were also offering attractive incentives to land the employment center. He would not disclose what the other two cities were, saying they have yet to be informed as the Lexington move is not finalized until incentive packages have been approved.
“Based on our experience with local and state officials, as well as business and academic leaders (in Lexington), we are confident that Lexington will be a great fit for Bingham,” Bingham’s COO Whitley said in a release.
