Addleshaw Goddard has emerged as the only top 10 national or regional law firm to see a decline in both revenue and profits in 2010-11 – a year when the group mirrored the marginal increases in profits and turnover seen across the top 50 as a whole.

Addleshaws saw profits per equity partner (PEP) fall by 23%, against a 3.3% drop in turnover. In contrast, average revenues across the 10 largest national firms increased by 4.9%, with PEP increasing by 2% on average, to £407,100 – more than £100,000 lower than the average PEP across the top 50 as a whole.

Pinsent Masons and Irwin Mitchell were the only other firms in the group to see a dip in PEP, each reporting single-digit drops, while Eversheds saw revenues fall marginally, by 0.2%.

Wragge & Co was the best performing firm, seeing a double-digit hike in both turnover and profits, with revenue growing by 15.1% to £113.1m, and PEP climbing by 17.8% to £325,000. Wragges' results reversed a trend of falling financials at the firm over the last two years.

Wragges senior partner Quentin Poole said: "Obviously both the economy and the legal market are recovering generally, but for us that recovery has been very broad-based. What we have found is it has been a case of growth across the board."

Addleshaws senior partner Monica Burch (pictured) said: "It was a disappointing year for us financially, but we're optimistic about the year ahead."

Management at many of the firms were cautious about the coming year, highlighting that the market has yet to feel the impact of the government's cuts in public sector spending.

DLA Piper joint-chief executive and managing partner Nigel Knowles commented: "It's going to remain tough out there for a lot of firms that have nothing to differentiate themselves from the competition. Firms need to be either among the global elite or be a global business, otherwise they need to find a niche."

Looking to regional firms lower down the top 50 table, 2010-11 marked the entrance of Gateley to the rankings of the UK's largest firms by revenue. The firm entered the table at number 48 on the back of a 23% increase in revenue aided, to a large part, by the acquisition of 38 Manchester partners from collapsed firm Halliwells (click here for details from the Gateley case study).

Burges Salmon also improved its position significantly, with the firm moving from number 50 to 46, after increasing revenues by nearly 9%.