Amid talk of associate layoffs at Ropes & Gray circulating on social media this week, the firm said on Wednesday that any cuts result from a performance evaluation. The firm’s statement follows a Big Law trend this year of firms quietly making cuts through the review process.

“The quarterly performance management process is a part of the normal course [of] our business operations. We continue to use our same merits-based evaluation process,” the firm said in a statement provided by a spokesperson.