Ashurst saw a £5m increase in staff costs during 2010-11 against a 2% drop in staff count, according to the firm’s limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts.

The accounts, recently filed on Companies House, show staff costs rose to £127.8m last year, up from £122.3m in 2009-10. Over the same period, total legal and support staff headcount fell from 1,634 to 1,602.