£1m-a-year City lawyers on increase

The number of City lawyers earning more than £1 million a year is rising.

At least three firms paid their top partners sevenfigure sums last year.

The tally is the highest since the end of the City mergers and acquisitions boom in 2000.

The three firms are Slaughter & May, where senior partners earned £1.17million last year, Linklaters, at ?1.065 million and Allen & Overy at £1million.

The partnerships' profitability is thought to have been boosted by costcutting as dozens of older partners were "let go" in a major shake-out.

Britain's highest paid solicitor in 2003/2004 was Alastair Dickson, founder of the boutique firm Dickson Minto, which specialises in the private equity market. He received about £1.2 million.