Focus will now turn to negotiations that will determine the future relationship.

Lawyers across the U.K. are braced for a range of emotions today as the country formally leaves the European Union.

After more than three years of political uncertainty following the Brexit vote, many senior industry practitioners expressed their optimism that a better corporate deal market was on the way, while also expressing sadness about what the official departure at 11pm GMT means for the country.

Norton Rose Fulbright dispute resolution partner Paul Stothard, who has worked in the firm's London and Dubai offices, was outspoken about the effect Brexit has had on his family.

"Leaving the EU is a tragedy for my family," he said. "My wife is a classic 'citizen of nowhere' – a Danish national born in Norway with generations of social and military ties to the UK. The law makes no allowance for her extraordinary ties to the UK – her marriage to me, three British kids, 30 years of work and education here. The first thing that happened after the vote was that she was rejected for UK citizenship with no reasons or appeal."

 

"Eventually, after incredible stress, we secured settled status for her, but at the cost of our family being able to stay together while I work for the firm in an overseas office. For us, today is the day the kids lose their rights to live in her homeland and it's the beginning of a countdown where we may have to been in different countries altogether."

Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick has been one of few law firm figureheads to boldly state his and the firm's anti-Brexit stand.

"The firm's view was that we shouldn't leave," Chissick said. "Colleagues on the continent were worried, and we did take a stand publicly. It's a bit of a tragedy, we've got several European colleagues here and people were worried about their future."

The U.K.-headquartered firm refers to itself as "proudly European" on its website and has refocused its efforts in Continental Europe since the referendum, with new office openings including Luxembourg and Dublin.

Given the issue is so politically sensitive, many other partners were reluctant to speak on the record, but were equally forthright in their views.

"The decision to break away from the EU is not one I support and has had an impact on how I feel about being in the U.K."

One partner at a Magic Circle firm described today as "incredibly depressing."

He added: "I was very surprised at the outcome of the referendum at the time. I didn't think we'd be that stupid, and I think a lot of people are racist."

Another partner who works at a Magic Circle firm in London and was not born in the U.K. said: "It's the first time I've felt more detached from the UK. I've made a life here. Therefore the decision to break away from the EU is not one I support and has had an impact on how I feel about being in the U.K. It's also raised some concerns about the future for my kids."

Grounds for optimism

But several partners pointed to some silver linings such as the government majority secured in December's general election and the expected boost in dealflow.

Macfarlanes senior partner Charles Martin says his firm made a conscious decision to be "neutral on the wrongs and rights of Brexit both internally and externally" at the time of the referendum, and agrees that the market has enjoyed a "relative" sense of calm since the U.K. general election result in December, when the Conservative government won with a decisive majority.

One DLA Piper partner based in London concurred. He said: "The election provided an enormous sense of relief whether you liked the result or not. There was a real worry that comrade Corbyn would get in, which would have been horrific. We're yet to see Boris Johnson's colours, but at least he's been definite about this."

"It's too early to say whether we are approaching a land of milk and honey, but at long last we can look forward with confidence."

Following the election outcome and the resulting agreement to leave the EU today, most lawyers agree that the stage is now set for a pick-up in deal activity this year.

"The ingredients for a successful M&A market are cheap debt, a strong fundraising market and political certainty," explained Paul Dolman, head of private equity and financial sponsors at Travers Smith. "We have had the former two for a while but now, following the election, we also have the third. It's too early to say whether we are approaching a land of milk and honey, but at long last we can look forward with confidence."

Another London head of private equity at an international firm agreed, saying the mood is "quite positive".

"It generally feels quite buoyant. Quite a few deals we're doing are international – I'd say a third of them don't have U.K. headquarters. People realise they still have to make investments."

The future relationship

Trade and employment lawyers also expect a busy period ahead, as while the certainty of the U.K. is leaving the EU has been secured, the intricacies of what the future relationship will look like has not.

There are a number of different options depending on how the negotiations play out, and these will have "vastly different consequences," according to Jenny Revis, EU, competition and trade partner at Baker McKenzie in London.

"Until they know what the future trading relationship will look like between the EU and the U.K., companies cannot have full visibility on the impact of Brexit on their business. For many businesses, this will mean that they may limit investments in the U.K. or the EU in light of the uncertainty or, the contrary, push ahead with plans irrespective of the outcome of those negotiations as they cannot afford to delay certain crucial business decisions any further," she explained.

Allen & Overy employment partner Sarah Henchoz added her clients' priorities have been on reassuring their workforces, including to non-U.K. nationals that they won't suddenly have to leave the country and lose their jobs, and to U.K. nationals that their work won't suddenly be relocated to an EU country.

She added: "Part of this consideration depends on the ability to attract local talent or second or transfer existing employees to work in other countries, and is also dependent on a number of other factors such as local regulation."

Marking the end

When asked whether they would be celebrating or commiserating the U.K.'s departure in any way tonight, most partners said they had no plans to. But one partner at a U.S. firm in London said he would be attending UKIP MEP and prominent Brexiteer Nigel Farage's party at a London club tonight.

Farage also has his enemies in the profession though. One partner of a large U.K. firm expressed his horror at the behaviour of Farage in the European Parliament. "I'm still struggling to get over how silly small Union Jack flags look when waved about," he said.

"And overall, I'm just sad."

Hannah Roberts, Meganne Tillay, Simon Lock and Varsha Patel also contributed to this article.