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Providing heartening news for Latin America's technology sector, Chile's Certifica.com this March became one of the first internet companies on the continent to attract venture capital since US tech-stocks crashed last year. Advised by Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Certifica completed its first round of financing early in March, raising $3.3 million. Compared to Silicon Valley financings the numbers are small, but according to one investor completion of the deal is a key step in developing Latin America's web economy.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal has launched a practice to help businesses manage weather-related risk using weather derivatives, claiming the new global service is the first of its kind.

Paris lawyers have reacted calmly to new rules govering initial public offerings (IPOs) published by the regulator of the Paris Stock Exchange, the Commissions Opérations des Bourses (COB). Responding to growing pressure following the collapse of technology share values and fears that venture capitalists and dot.com founders were able to exploit existing rules at the expense of public investors, the COB last month issued a statement which local lawyers say simply clarifies existing guidelines.

Allen & Overy is advising Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and Goldman Sachs International on the second largest initial public offering (IPO) in the UK this year. UK firm Herbert Smith is also working on the $1.25 billion London listing of UK recruitment consultant Michael Page International. Allen & Overy is advising CSFB, which is joint lead manager with Goldman Sachs International, as sponsor, global co-ordinator, sole book runner and underwriters on the UK company's IPO. Other banks involved in the offering are Deutsche Bank, Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, HSBC and West LB Panmure.

Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy hopes to attract lawyers suffering from the dot.com downturn to staff its new Palo Alto office.

Simmons names new senior partner

One of Clifford Chance's most senior asset finance partners has left the UK firm to become a director in the leasing and tax-based finance group of ANZ Investment Bank in London. The departure has forced the UK firm to rejig the lawyers in its asset finance team.

In March IFLR held ceremonies in London and Hong Kong to celebrate the achievements of the international legal market’s top firms. In this issue we present the winners and runners up in this year’s awards, with analysis of what it took to win the deal and team awards. Leading the pack were Sullivan & Cromwell who won IFLR Team of the Year, and Linklaters & Alliance who won International Law Firm of the Year for Asia

Brigette Baillie at South African firm Webber Wentzel Bowens has been advising a group of South African construction companies and foreign investors on a project to build the country's third road under the government's privatization programme. The Platinum Toll Road (N4W) deal will reach financial closure during April. Dan Reynell, a banking and finance partner at Clifford Chance in London is advising the lending syndicate comprising two South African lead arrangers: Investec Merchant bank and Nedcor investment bank. The other lenders are Asba Bank, Nedcor Bank and Standard Bank.

The Singapore joint law venture between Lovells and Lee & Lee, approved by the attorney general in August 2000, took effect on March 1. The joint venture is structured as a limited company with six directors each from Lovells and Lee & Lee. An executive committee has responsibility for day-to-day management. The joint venture comprises 17 partners and 32 other lawyers all based in Singapore, covering corporate and commercial law, banking, project finance, intellectual property and information technology, as well as business reconstruction, debt rescheduling and insolvency.