Weil Gotshal & Manges is not planning to increase individual targets to 1,700 billable hours per year ("US firms retaliate in war for London's top lawyers… as they try to match UK billable hours," The Lawyer, 5 June).

While we did substantially increase our lawyers' remuneration in March (starting at £50,000 for newly qualified lawyers), we have always stated that we have no intention of increasing our individual target of 1,600 billable hours per year.

Weil Gotshal & Manges is committed to maintaining a work-life balance so that pressure due to heavy workloads has been matched by an increase in recruitment (with over 25 lawyers having recently joined or joining in the finance and corporate departments).

Mike Francies, head of London office, Weil Gotshal & Manges