Optimism among partners about business prospects is continuing to recover, with almost all expecting their firms' revenues to grow over the next 12 months.

Legal Week's quarterly business confidence survey, which canvasses senior lawyers on their outlook for the year ahead, found 95% of partners predicting revenues at their own firm to grow over the next 12 months, with 80% of respondents expecting revenue to grow across the top 50 as a whole.

Fifteen percent predicted double-digit increases in turnover at their own firm – up from 12% predicting the same three months ago – although just 5% predicted a double-digit revenue rise for the UK top 50 as whole.

No respondents to the survey predicted falling revenues over the next 12 months, while just 5% expected their own firm's turnover to remain static. Twenty percent predicted that revenue growth across the UK's top 50 firms would remain static.

However, Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson sounded a note of caution, commenting: "Things have improved over the last year and people are feeling a lot more optimistic, but we've still got some hard yards to go – I can't see the economy suddenly firing into life.

"The idea that things have gone back to the way they were before the crisis, in any shape or form, is a myth." Ranson added that firms without an international focus might struggle due to the uncertainty of the UK economy.

Indeed, only 10% of senior lawyers surveyed said the UK would be the best-performing region over the next 12 months – compared to 15% three months ago. Three quarters (75%) said Asia would be the best performing region in the next year, with 15% citing the US.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer global corporate head Ed Braham agreed: "The UK firms with a strong international focus will do the best over the next 12 months. The UK economy still feels fragile and that will affect the firms with a mainly domestic practice.

"I'm cautiously optimistic [about the UK economy] but the risk factors remain pretty serious. High-yield, banking and debt capital markets will continue to be priority areas for us. Regionally, we expect to invest, particularly in the US and Asia."

Irwin Mitchell corporate and commercial head Andrew Woolf was optimistic about the UK economy, predicting growth across the UK in general but especially in the City. He said: "The market is definitely more active than it has been. It's not the heady days of 2007 just yet, but we've certainly had a lot more work in corporate this year. Speaking as a corporate partner, our deal book is a lot fuller than it was last year."

Osborne Clarke managing partner Simon Beswick commented: "We remain cautiously optimistic but pleased with the volume of work we have received in recent months and anticipate this high volume will continue in the short term."

In terms of investment priorities over the next 12 months, corporate was identified as the top target, with 40% naming it as the priority practice area ahead of litigation, which received 30% of the vote.

Woolf added: "2010 was the year for people trying to do game-changing deals, and 2011 will be the year for people going back to doing normal ones."