Clifford Chance (CC) is ramping up its focus on partner performance with more rigorous appraisals that will more closely tie partner pay with performance than ever before, Legal Week understands.

Partners have received an internal memo from management setting out the issues they need to bear in mind with regards to the upcoming appraisal cycle, which will see the firm place greater emphasis on clearly defined targets than in previous years.

The overhaul is tied to the latest changes to CC's lockstep, introduced in May, which stretched the top of the lockstep and recalculated profit units, with the firm using the lockstep revamp as an opportunity to consult with partners about what is expected from them.

As a result, partners will now be assessed on targets ranging from revenue generation to cross-selling, client development and service delivery and innovation. There will also be a particular focus on the amount of high value business partners bring in.

One current CC partner said: "There is definitely an ongoing conversation going on about what the role of a partner is, particularly senior partners. There is more of a focus on the type of work you bring in and where you are bringing it. Low billing, straightforward stuff is not good enough - you need to bring in more bespoke, high-end work that involves other parts of the firm."

Another adds: "It is less about about new clients and more about new groups you are working with, across different practices. That's viewed as a good thing."

One ex-partner suggested that the overhaul ushers in a more US-style approach to appraisals and remuneration, linking performance more closely with pay, as opposed to a more traditional lockstep system.

He said: "The way you calculate how much you get depends on a lot of the factors that US firms take into account. Before, it was all lockstep, and performance wasn't a factor."

Previously, partners and former partners say expectations were less clearly defined, and pay was much more loosely tied to performance in appraisals.

One partner said: "With the lockstep arrangements these days, your performance plays a more significant factor in where you end up. It has never been entirely clear in firms that aren't purely 'eat what you kill' what the firm's expectations are. If you are good with clients, that will have better consequences for your position in the lockstep. But it is not as formal as having to go through tick boxes; it is what you are expected to do."

Until recently, former partners said that the appraisal process was much more benign, before tightening up over the last two years.

One, who left before Matthew Layton became managing partner in May 2014, said: "When I was there, there was no correlation between partner drawings and performance – I never had that discussion. I never felt those appraisals would have an impact on what I was getting to get paid because I was just rolling through the lockstep."

Another added: "Over the last couple of years, it has been more challenging to drum up revenue. This has affected the last two appraisals [in 2016 and 2017]. Before, it would have been more of a talk about your focus and the direction you are aiming your practice to go in. Now it is based on the specifics you think you should be doing in terms of reaching a revenue target."

One former partner said the clearer appraisal targets and metrics were also intended to deflate criticism from some within the firm that the new super-point tier was effectively reserved for 'friends of management'.

A former partner says: "There is some perception that giving out super-points has benefited friends of management. CC is quite good at being reasonably transparent. If they don't say what behaviour they are trying to encourage, then people will say 'so and so are mates with management'."

A CC spokesperson said: "Our priority is working collaboratively to provide our clients with the best advice and the best service delivery. Ensuring all of our people understand how they contribute to the achievement of those goals is critical to our future success. This sits at the heart of our approach to performance management across the firm, from objective setting to appraisals and strategic business reviews."