Bingham and McBetter 

Sorry, but there's no punchline coming. Bucking the trend of ever-decreasing revenues, Bingham McCutchen's turnover in the City rose from $40.8m to $43.2m in 2010. Just one small office in a network that spans the globe, Bingham London is and always has been a fairly boutique practice, working chiefly on financial restructuring and banking litigation. This emphasis served it well as companies began to flounder in the recession. “We were busy before, very busy during, and will be busy coming out of the recession. Even in an upturn, people will still restructure,” was one trainee's take on things. Can we put it all down to Bingham's restructuring prowess? Not totally. One reason, explained graduate recruitment partner Vance Chapman, “is that the clients that we work for – mostly investment funds – have remained very active throughout the cycle. In previous years they were looking at property, leveraged  deals, and the capital markets but now distressed situations offer the best value.” Bingham does have a small corporate practice and, said Chapman, “we've also seen an increase in M&A activity, including from US acquirors attracted by the weaker pound, and some rekindling of interest in equity capital markets. Things are looking pretty positive all round.” For their part, trainees said: “Bingham does well in bad times and good times. The work is always going to come in and so there's nothing to worry about – unlike at other firms.”

The Fantastic Four 

Until now, Bingham has taken only two new starters a year, with its training contract only offering seats in each of the firm's major departments: the financial restructuring group (FRG), finance, litigation and corporate. Times, however, are a-changing. “In the last two years we've started tax and competition groups,” said Vance Chapman, “and we expect both to take trainees in either this or the next rotation. This means that increasing trainee numbers is more than a possibility: it's a probability. With too many seats for the number of trainees we currently have, there's a strong chance that we'll expand trainee numbers, given the right candidates.” With just over 50 lawyers in the office, even taking on one or two more trainees would make a big difference. Current trainees enjoy being part of such an intimate environment: “You can go and ask for exposure,” said one. “Because it's so small, you benefit from that personal touch.”

Bingham has had roles on two of the largest restructuring matters of recent times: the £1.64bn restructuring of Greek mobile phone operator Wind Hellas and the €2bn reorganisation of casino Gala Coral. In addition to those, it acted in the restructuring of Swedish oil giant Preem and, following the collapse of the Icelandic banking system, has worked with bondholders and creditors as banks are restructured under Icelandic law. Trainees in the FRG seat work for “pretty much everybody” in the group. One who joined in the midst of a “busy and high-profile” matter was given time to “read into the complicated transaction,” to gain a “macro-feel” of it. Not surprising – it's a seat where events move quickly and you have to be “on the ball” all the time.

The financial litigation department has also seen “a lot of different aspects of Icelandic work.” Said one source: “It's a steep learning curve, but it's very gratifying that we can be relied on at this stage – I've read opinions of barristers and been in on client calls.” In 2011 the team rounded up a decade-long piece of litigation on behalf of bondholders of Polish energy group Elektrim. The final success brought money recovered by the firm to over €700m.

Corporate is a seat with a mixture of “large firm-wide deals and your own smaller matters: so it ranges from quite large mergers to very tiny incorporations of a company that you basically run yourself with a partner.” Rather than merely mopping up corporate aspects of deals sent from other departments, the team's increasing profile for M&A means that “we have our own clients.” This year the group advised Japanese aerospace equipment manufacturer Sumitomo on its acquisition of certain assets of semiconductor business Aviza for $56.6m.

The finance seat, like everything else at Bingham, is “very specialised” and handles private placement note issuance for international investors. It's pretty tough work, we understand – not just the subject matter but the fact they “they just drop you in at the deep end.” The firm has a separate financial regulatory group that advises hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions in connection with FSA investigations and enforcement actions. In addition, trainees who express an interest have had the chance to help out on discrete tax and competition matters. Bolstered by the hire of McDermott Will & Emery partner Stuart Sinclair in 2009, the former group helps on the tax issues of restructuring deals. “We act opposite the magic circle: it's all very fast moving and exciting – really cutting-edge work,” an insider told us.

Trainees at Bingham are lucky, and they know it. The quality of supervision is very good and the partners make time to talk them through things: “They have the ability to teach without making you feel stupid,” said one. Will this change as trainee numbers grow? “The way we've grown our office has been to play to our strengths and build out steadily and organically,” Vance Chapman told us. Bingham would grow its training contract on similar foundations.

Ker-ching-ham McCutchen 

“It strikes me that they are really careful about recruitment,” mused one source. “Because the teams are so small and streamlined, everyone is so clever. I've never come across someone and thought 'Ooh, really?' There's no space for people who don't fit in.” If past trainees have typically been slightly older than the norm, then Chapman assured us “the objective is to attract individuals with the right qualities who will stay with us for the long haul – we'll therefore recruit from any age bracket.” The combination of small office and “big-ticket work” means newbies will gain “huge amounts of experience in a short space of time.” It's important to note that “with only two trainees, there's not the culture of drinking. If people are looking for that, then it's not the place for them.” The pleasure of being at Bingham comes instead from “being a valued member of the team,” and putting in heavy hours for big rewards.

Bingham pays a dazzling NQ salary of £100,000. The firm claims it is simply matching New York rates, rather than trying to make a statement by dishing out the highest salary in the London market. “Maybe this is naïve, but I don't think it was a function of trying to offer the most in London,” agreed one trainee. “It's unfair to be paid less than New York if a very profitable London office is producing high-end work.” Whatever the reason, it's certainly an unsubtle hint that Bingham will only settle for the best graduates and, of course, any firm needs to flash the cash if it wants to attract the very brightest minds. Unfortunately, Bingham refused to disclose to us how many of its two 2011 qualifiers stayed on to take advantage of the Star Prize.

And finally... 

“I do feel I've made the right decision. I'm in a small environment, a fascinating area of the law, working on some of the most interesting transactions, being given the most responsibility. If you're able to prove yourself, you can go on to have a fascinating career.”