Pre-tax profits at international firm Berwin Leighton Paisner rose by 15% in 2014/15, as remuneration for its highest-paid member jumped by almost a third.

According to documents filed with Companies House for the year ending 30 April 2015, pre-tax profits for the firm rose to £78.1m, on a turnover of £259.2m. This compared with £68.2m in 2014 on a turnover of £245.7m.

The firm's highest-paid member received £1.5m in the year, up from £1.2m the year before. Lisa Mayhew is the managing partner at the firm, taking over the position from Neville Eisenberg on 1 May 2015.

The figures continue a turnaround for the firm, following a drop of almost 32% in profit in 2012/13. Last year profits rose by 25% year on year.

A spokesman for the firm said the rise in profits was on the back of 'impressive growth' in real estate and infrastructure, litigation and dispute resolution and transactional work.

The spokesman added: 'Additionally, we made significant strategic hires over the last financial year, including within our international offices, who have also helped drive performance. Finally, effective management of our lock-up contributed to stronger recoveries and together with greater efficiency in our front-end delivery processes, helped drive up profit margins.'

Profits available for discretionary division among members stood at £75.8m, equating to £465,000 when averaged out among the firm’s 163 members. This compares to £370,000 in 2013/14 across an average of 179 members. 

The number of support and legal staff, excluding members, rose from 1,204 to 1,245, pushing wages and salaries up 5% to £92.3m.