The UK’s top 100 law firms saw fee income fall for the third consecutive quarter in the three-month period ending 31 October, with the largest firms seeing the biggest decline according to new research from professional services firm Deloitte.

The accounting giant’s quarterly legal sector survey found fee income fell by 5.7% in the second quarter of 2009-10, with this drop almost doubling at the top 10 UK firms to 10.5%.