DLA posted an 18% rise in turnover for the 2003-2004 financial year - up to 275 million from 233 million last year - against a backdrop that saw fee income for some of its principal rivals stall or decline.

The firm's average profits per partner also rose from 460,000 last year to 475,000.

Announcing the results last week, managing partner Nigel Knowles said: 'Financially, the firm has been strong and continues to have a dominant presence in the UK regional market.'

The next best performance of the national firms in terms of gross fee income was Eversheds, which saw a 3% increase from 286 million to 296 million.

Managing partner David Gray said they were comparatively excellent results.

At Birmingham and London-based Wragge & Co, gross fee income stalled at 79.3 million for 2003-4.

Despite this and a 17% drop in profits per partner - down to 210,000 - the firm announced a 300,000 distribution to staff, which will see payments of around 500 to recently qualified lawyers.

Managing partner Quentin Poole described the turnover as 'very respectable given the economic conditions of the last 12 months - and many of our clients have been hit harder than us'.

National firm Hammonds' gross fee income dipped from 137.5 million last time round to 136 million for 2003-2004, with profits per partner dropping 18% from last year's 330,000 to 272,000.

Senior partner Richard Burns said the disappointing figures reflected decisions to grow during a hard economic climate, and added: 'We expect to reap the benefits of our lateral and organic growth along with our sector focus in the coming years.'

London and south-east-based firm Penningtons, meanwhile, posted a gross fee income increase of 10% - from 21.2 million up to 23.4 million.

Lesley Lintott, Penningtons' managing partner, said the firm's Newbury and Godalming offices would be moving into bigger premises as a result of the past few years' growth.

Jeremy Fleming