Peters & Peters

Turnover (£m): 8.9
RPL (£k): 307

Peters & Peters saw turnover increase by 11.3 per cent last year, from £8m to £8.9m. 2010-11 saw the firm win several headline-making ­instructions and represents the most successful year in its 73-year history. Mandates included representing the former owners of Liverpool FC Tom Hicks and George Gillett to fight off a High Court bid by RBS to have the club’s board reconstituted.

The icing on the cake came in March, when special counsel Monty Raphael was awarded honorary QC status by the Lord Chancellor in recognition of his contribution to law outside his white-collar crime practice.

The firm has no plans to move outside its core area of litigation and white-collar crime, preferring to keep its partnership small so it can make decisions quickly and remain conflict free, enabling it to keep attracting instructions from City referrers.

With just 10 partners, led by managing ­partner Keith Oliver, Peters & Peters has no management board, but all significant changes have to be ratified by the partnership.