Herbert Smith’s highest-paid fee earner took home almost £1.4m last year, the firm’s limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts for 2007-08 have revealed.

The figure, which tops 2006-07′s highest earnings of £1.04m, comes after a year in which the firm recorded a 26% increase in profits per equity partner, breaking through the £1m barrier to a new mark of £1.03m.