Thankfully for lawyers, the banking community have been taking most flack for their outsized pay packets. Leaving a few lucky legal folk to mop up some fairly hefty compensation without drawing too much public ire. And in some cases, despite the fact that their firms have seen profits shrivelling in the downturn.

A fine example was uncovered in the accounts of SJ Berwin:

Legal Week: SJ Berwin paid out £1.23m to its top-earning partner in 2008-09, even though average profits per equity partner for the same year fell by almost 50% to £410,000.

…only £40,000 less than the amount the firm’s highest-paid member received the previous year…

In a statement, the firm said: “This is an unusual situation that straddled two years.”

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We couldn’t decipher if they meant the credit crunch or the payout.