Ask any British lawyer about Brexit and, as with the rest of the U.K.'s population, you are practically guaranteed to hear strong views of some kind. Repeat the same exercise in Paris, and you are as likely simply to receive a shrug.

Unlike in the U.K. where many lawyers on both sides of the debate have questioned their government's handling of the process, French lawyers are broadly approving of French President Emmanuel Macron's increasingly tough attitude to Brexit negotiations.

"The French government has acknowledged the risk of a 'no deal', and earlier than some other member states," says one French partner at a U.S.-headquartered firm. "[It] has taken the basic steps necessary to ensure that there is no crash in the [financial] system or in infrastructure. And I think if 'no deal' actually happens, the government will be able to act on very short notice.