TURNOVER at litigation law firm Balfour & Manson nudged up by two per cent to £9 million in the last financial year while partner profits remained static at £2.9m.

In the year to October 2017 the firm’s turnover was 20% higher than it was in 2008/09, when it came in at £7.5m. Profits, meanwhile, are marginally lower, having bounced around the £3m mark in that time.

Chairman Elaine Motion said the fact the firm’s profit figure has not also jumped is a sign that its strategy is working.

“Stability jumps out as the main thing about the figures,” she said. “We have remained extremely stable. It’s a sign of the way we manage the firm.”

While the firm has small private client and commercial practices, the bulk of the work it does is litigation focused.

Ms Motion said this has worked in Balfour & Manson’s favour over the past decade by insulating it against the worst of the downturn in the markets.

“That’s why we’ve ridden the storm so well,” she said. “Litigation has been the powerhouse of Balfour & Manson forever, and especially since 1990.”

In the firm’s accounts for the year it noted that the reserve fund it holds in case it is the subject of litigation fell from £315,000 to £300,180. It added £78,000 to the fund during the year and paid out a total of £92,820.