New York CityThe US’ leading law firms have comprehensively shrugged off the prolonged slump in deal activity, Legal Week has established after gaining access to the most authoritative research on the financial performance of US firms.

Benchmark findings from Citigroup’s eagerly awaited ‘flash survey’ of the top 200 US law firms shows respondents collectively averaging an increase in fee income of 6.5%, while average profits per partner rose by 8.5%.