White & Case is to crack down on partner performance, with the firm planning to enforce average billable hours targets globally.

Partners were alerted about the move at a meeting in Washington DC last month, at which they were notified of a drop in average billable hours across the firm and told that some partners would be asked to leave as a result.

Research carried out by management before the retreat found partners' average hours chargeable to clients had fallen significantly behind their peers both in the US and elsewhere, with some in London expected to be affected by the new performance management measures.

It is understood the firm is contemplating an upper-end target of around 1,700 billable hours a year, although this has been described by some within the firm as an "aspirational" target rather than a minimum requirement.

London managing partner Oliver Brettle (pictured) commented: "As a leading global law firm we must manage our firm proactively. Given the new economic realities, we have undertaken a renewed focus on partner performance, aimed at reinforcing our commitment to clients and innovating how we deliver service to them. To do this, we are asking our partners to step up towards the same level of contribution as partners at our peer firms."

One partner added: "There will be partners who will be asked to leave because their performance is just not up to scratch, and there are those that will be asked to get their act together in order to stay on."

The move comes after White & Case carried out a restructuring of its London partnership three years ago, affecting more than 10% of partners.