Area Development
International law firm Bingham McCutchen will invest more than $22.5 million to open a global services center in Lexington, Kentucky, at the University of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Campus, with plans to create 250 jobs.

"The Global Services Center will position us to operate even more efficiently in an ever-changing, highly competitive economy," said Bingham Chairman Jay Zimmerman, adding that while the focus of the effort is on centralizing U.S. administrative operations, its scope is international. "After 15 years of significant growth by combinations, we are consolidating our operations model to more efficiently support our lawyers around the world and, in turn, provide better service to our national and global client base. For Bingham, Lexington is an excellent fit. I am impressed by the vitality of the city, the warmth of the people and the business-friendly environment."

"We look forward to being part of the Lexington community," said Bingham Chief Operating Officer L. Tracee Whitley. "Based on our experience with local and state officials, as well as business and academic leaders there, we are confident that Lexington will be a great fit for Bingham."

"This is an outstanding boost to the economy here in Lexington and the Commonwealth," said Gov. Steve Beshear. "Bingham is a highly successful global firm, and we couldn't be more excited about the 250 professional jobs it will create in central Kentucky. The choice to locate here says a lot about our business-friendly climate, ideal location and valuable workforce. We look forward to a continued and successful partnership with Bingham and are pleased to welcome them to Kentucky."

As an incentive to encourage investment and job creation in Lexington, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority 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.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray said,"We're attracting firms like Bingham that can locate anywhere in the country, and they chose Lexington. This decision reflects the kind of results we can expect more of. This is high octane for Lexington. In terms of the number of jobs and starting salaries, it's easily the biggest economic development achievement we've had since the recession began in 2008."