Successful law firms are often thought of as unforgiving, hard-nosed places, where colleagues are working in competition with each other as much as for the common cause.

According to Legal Week's recent employee satisfaction survey, however, staff at law firms are less concerned with the bottom line than with 'softer' HR issues, such as feeling valued by the firm, being treated well by partners, and having a good work-life balance.

So it should be particularly satisfying for the top brass at Shoosmiths that the firm was deemed to have the most content of all staff, while its financial results also showed a marked improvement following a period of retrenchment.

For chief executive Claire Rowe (pictured), it's no surprise that her firm came out top of the report.

"There is a very specific culture within Shoosmiths," she says. "We have a collegiate feel; we work hard, but we work together. We have a team ethos, a 'we' ethos, both internally with our other practice groups and locations, with our clients, and even with other law firms on panels we are working on.

"We have a transparent and open environment, there are no secrets. We have very honest conversations with our people to set our plans. Our staff enjoy a set-up which means they can achieve their personal objectives in a supportive way."

But it's not all about making staff feel good. Revenues at Shoosmiths were up nearly 7% in 2013-14, to £93m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) rose by 21% to £290,000.

"It's a way of working that the clients enjoy too, and we've seen an increase in work from longstanding relationships because of it," adds Rowe. "We have had a really solid performance this year, both in terms of top line and in terms of profit. We have had growth across the board, but particularly in commercial, real estate and corporate."

Recent deal highlights include taking the lead role on the administration of shoe retailer Barratts last year and acting on property development and investment company Allied London's purchase of ITV Granada television studios in October. The firm has also retained its role advising Hitachi Rail Europe on the Department for Transport's investment into upgrading trains on the East Coast Main Line.

This uptick, however, has come from a lowered base and profitability is still some way short of 2010-11 levels, when PEP was up at £371,000.

For Rowe, the years in between were a period of expansion and spending, the effects of which are now starting to be reflected in more positive results.

"Over the last two or three years we have been investing in our systems and our people," she explains. "We are now reaping the returns on those investments. Yes they came at a cost, but the longer term plan is that we get rewarded with decent returns."

Most noteworthy among these investments was Shoosmiths' move into Scotland through a merger with Edinburgh's Archibald Campbell Harley in the autumn of 2012, and the firm has continued to expand with 15 lateral partner hires in the 2013-14 financial year, including taking eight lawyers from now defunct Midlands firm Challinors last August in a coup for the firm's medical negligence practice. As of May 2014, the firm had 131 global partners, but still has no offices outside of the UK.

Consolidating and possibly expanding upon this year's successes is the order of the next 12 months for Rowe. If the firm does so successfully, there's no reason why its staff shouldn't stay happy.