by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Staff at a Kent law firm are in line for a bonus after it defied the downturn to boost revenue and profit.

Cripps Harries Hall LLP, Tunbridge Wells, unveiled what it called encouraging results for the financial year ending April 2009.

The firm reported small increases in turnover - to £19.1m - and in net profit - to £5.2 million. The result beat its profit target and triggered a staff-wide profit-related bonus. It is the fourth year in a row that the target has been exceeded and staff paid a bonus.

The firm promotes itself as offering City-quality lawyers at lower cost and this message appears to be paying off in the marketplace, with clients ranging from plcs, financial institutions, national and local government, to private companies, charities and individuals.

The firm was recently appointed to the legal panel of the Crossrail transport scheme across London, Europe’s largest construction project that starts this year.

Jonathan Denny, managing partner, said: "This has been a challenging year for the market generally and everyone in the firm has pulled together to deliver these solid financial results.

"We are delighted to have hit profit budget triggering the staff-wide bonus again and enabling us to reward everyone for their hard work. We have no illusions about the business challenges we face in the year ahead, but we are starting from a strong position."