White & Case has put London and New York at the centre of its new five-year strategy, with the firm setting out plans to significantly ramp up the proportion of its lawyers based in the two key financial centres by 2020.

In an interview with Legal Week, chairman Hugh Verrier said White & Case now plans to boost lawyer count in the City from roughly 350 at present to more than 500 within five years, with its New York office expected to house around the same number of lawyers.

The firm, currently one of the most international US players with less than a third of its lawyers based in its homeland, also wants to increase the percentage of its lawyers inside America.

Verrier said: "More than two-thirds of our lawyers are currently outside the US and we want to see the proportion in the US grow.

"Right now, less than half the firm's lawyers are based in either the US or London and I would expect that proportion to rise to around 60% as a result of our new strategy."

The regional focus forms one part of a growth plan that will also see it target four key sectors and three practice areas.

As Legal Week previously reported, the firm has created a new global private equity sector group led by London partners Ian Bagshaw and Richard Youle and New York's Oliver Brahmst. The sector group sits alongside financial institutions; technology; and oil & gas as industries targeted for growth in the coming years.

By practice, Verrier said the firm wanted to focus its efforts on M&A, capital markets and disputes, though White & Case will still make hires in other areas.

The firm's plans form part of a three-pronged strategy that sees the New York firm also target better staff engagement, a more global recruitment approach and tighter client relationships across its chosen sectors.

The growth strategy marks a departure from the firm's focus over the last five years, when the emphasis has been on driving up profitability, in part by keeping total lawyer and partner headcount flat, despite a number of high profile additions.

Average profit per equity partner has risen by around 36% over the last five years and stood at just over $2m (£1.3m) for the last financial year.

Verrier added: "Over the last five years our strategy has been focused on driving profitability and that's been very successful. Now, we've taken another look at our strategy and decided to change course.

"It's about targeted profitable growth, specifically in the US and London, and it will not be insignificant growth."

News of the firm's strategy, drawn up over the summer after Verrier was re-elected for a third term as chair, comes after Legal Week reported that White & Case was to see several exits in Poland and after Dentons took over its Budapest office in May this year.

The firm has also seen a number of exits in Asia since relocating Eric Berg to the region to lead the Asian offering according to Verrier.

Commenting on the firm's position Verrier said: "Focusing on growth in the US and London does not mean we won't grow in other markets – it's where we will focus our efforts because we believe it will benefit the entire firm. We want to have global clients and serve them globally.

"At some point there will be people who feel that they want to be part of a domestic practice – but everyone in the firm knows where we're going and can decide for themselves whether they want to be part of our journey."