Record profits at leading law firms may be garnering unwelcome newspaper headlines and groans from over-worked assistants but City partners can at least rely on some support from one crucial constituency – their clients.

New Legal Week research shows little sign of unrest among leading corporate counsel at the surging profits of top 50 UK firms, with a poll of in-house lawyers showing that three-quarters believe their advisers’ current financial performance is ‘quite well deserved’.