Ashurst’s highest paid earner took home £977,000 in 2012-3, down from over £1m in 2012, according to the firm’s LLP accounts.

The filings – which look at the last financial year before the firm’s merger with Australia’s Blake Dawson – show that net funds dropped from £20.9m in 2011-12 to £6.9m at the end of 2012-13. Cash at the bank fell from £21.2m to £7.2m over the same period.