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A poor year for capital markets work and the prospect of a slowing economy are adding to the pressures on Portuguese law firms to define their strategies. Thomas Williams reports from Lisbon on what firms are looking to do next

"We know what the weather market wants"

Simmons names new senior partner

Once completed, the planned shake up of Turkey’s electricity industry should provide a wealth of opportunties for foreign investors. In the meantime, however, there is likely to be a degree of uncertainty. Kristin Meikle, Chadbourne & Parke, and Begum Durukan with the Birsel Law Offices, look at the prospects for the next few years

The Polish government, when implementing the "Principles of Operation of the Energy Market in Poland in 2000 and Subsequent Years", which determes the agenda of actions to be taken towards liberalizing and privatizing Poland's energy sector, organized the creation of the Polish Power Exchange. Its founding act was signed in November 1999 and the first market transactions were concluded in June 2000.

The European Company Statute (ECS) continues its tortuous progress towards implementation. On December 20 2000, political agreement was reached by the EU's Council of Ministers to establish the Statute, and on the related Directive concerning worker involvement in European companies. However, the question remains as to whether the compromise reached, which is still to be endorsed by the European Parliament, will in practice be palatable to countries such as the UK with less of a tradition of worker involvement, than other countries.

In December 2000, Kazakhstan took another major step to reform its financial sector by adopting a modern insurance law. In a region where the concept of insurance and the need for it are still widely misunderstood, Kazakhstan's Law on Insurance Activity aims to create the type of domestic insurance industry that is necessary for any market economy to function smoothly.

Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and US rival Brown & Wood have acted on the euro 17.5 billion ($15.7 billion) multi-currency bond offering by France Telecom, the largest corporate bond offering to date. Clearys, led by John Brinitzer, advised lead managers BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse First Boston, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Schroder Salomon Smith Barney. Brown & Wood advised France Telecom. Representing France Telecom out of Brown & Wood's New York office were partners Jack Kantrowitz and Nicholas Brown. Partner John Russell was advising from the firm's London office.

Clifford Chance, Shearman & Sterling and Denton Wilde Sapte have advised on two of the first deals to build own and run power stations in the Gulf State of Oman, marking a significant step forward in the privatization of the power industry in the Gulf state. At the beginning of March Clifford Chance announced the completion of the $130 million Al-Kamil gas fired power station project on which it acted for International Power, while Shearman & Sterling expects later this month to close a similar deal for AES Barka, a joint venture of US company AES Corporation and Oman company Multitech. In both cases British firm Denton Wilde Sapte acted for the government of Oman.

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