Profits at City firm Field Fisher Waterhouse rose 8% to £18.3m for the ‘turbulent’ financial year 2012/13.

Revenues dropped by 2.5% to £95m for the year to 5 April. Average profit per equity partner was also down, by 2% to £402,000.

The firm said the most profitable areas of practice included financial services and funds, privacy and information, finance, personal injury, medical negligence, technology and outsourcing.

International performance was strong in Paris and at its newest office in Palo Alto, California.

Merger talks between Field Fisher and another top-40 law firm, Osborne Clarke, collapsed at the end of last year.

Managing partner Michael Chissick, said: ‘Notwithstanding the fact we’ve experienced a turbulent period over the last 18 months with two sets of merger discussions, senior management changes and restructuring, the departure of three franchising partners and a challenging economic environment in the UK and Europe – I feel these are a solid set of results for a mid-market City law firm.’

Moves are underway to relocate to a new London property and hire more staff, said Chissick. ‘I am confident we are putting in place the foundations for an increase in profitability across the whole firm,’ he said.

In the UK the firm cut its headcount by four partners and one lawyer in 2012/13.