Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) is on course to reach its target of a £75m turnover by 2008, posting a 19 per cent rise this year to £60m.

The firm's management, including managing partner Moira Gilmour, will meet for a strategy weekend in November to revise the targets. After choice panel wins on the General Medical Council and Commission for Equality and Human Rights, management is likely to raise the bar even further for the coming years.

Key to the growth strategy is the firm's modified lockstep, which rewards partners' client wins, cross-selling and profit growth with equity points.

Every two years the remuneration committee meets to review the pay packages of the 39 equity partners. The committee awards between half a point and five points depending on performance, with 20 per cent of pay awarded on a sliding eight-year lockstep.

A partner at the top of equity with a completed lockstep earns a total of £783,000, which compares favourably with many larger firms. Currently, seven of the 39 equity partners are at the top, which is a huge increase on last year, when just one partner had reached that level.

FFW's 49 fixed-share partners also get a slice of the profit in the form of a yearly bonus linked to the firm's overall financial performance. The remuneration committee meets every year to decide which junior partners have earned equity.

This year the firm has sought to invest in its own facilities, splashing out on an office refit and an updated IT infrastructure. Despite the rise in costs, FFW still managed a margin of 32 per cent, creaming £19m profit off its £60m turnover.

FFW is in good shape after hiring six laterals this year. But the firm has also lost partners, such as real estate specialist Kenneth Maxwell to Dundas & Wilson.