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Spanish law firm Cuatrecasas has acquired Alicante law firm Dura and plans further mergers with firms in Glaizia, Majorca and Portugal. It is expanding its activities in an attempt to become the prominent law firm in the Iberian peninsula. Dura is a small firm specializing in commercial law and tax law and has special links with the European trade mark office in Alicante. Enric Picañol, head of international operations at Cuatrecasas in Barcelona, says: "We have clients in the major cities and now we want to go to the smaller places. We want to provide our clients with local advice but give them a full range of services."Cuatrecasas already has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia.

German firm Gleiss Lutz Hootz Hirsch & Partner and Benelux firm Stibbe Simont Monahan Duhot are considering merging. Partners at the two firms will take a vote in December and, if approved, the German firm will continue business as Stibbe Gleiss Simont Duhot on January 1 1999. The move follows the merger last year of Stibbe and French firm Giroux Buhagiar & Associés in Paris. Frans Corpeleyn, managing partner of Stibbe, says: "We will have French, Belgian, Dutch and German lawyers and these are the major jurisdictions in Europe. We want to be one truly integrated European law firm."

Partners from Canadian law firms Fraser & Beatty and Milner Fenerty have voted in favour of a merger. As of October 1, the firms will continue business as Fraser Milner. The new firm, which will have offices in Alberta, Ontario and British Colombia, plans to offer a wider range of specialities. Both firms offer advice on all areas of business law but Milner Fenerty, which has offices in Alberta, has specific expertise in forestry, mining and oil and gas. Jeff Barnes, partner on the board at Fraser & Beatty in Toronto, says: "Milner Fenerty is very specialized and we could not grow this ourselves. The merger will give us presence in these major product markets."

Delegates at the IBA's Vancouver conference heard how the introduction of the euro will lead to a vast unified European capital market, with the ability to rival the US and Japan. But, says Charles Proctor, a capital markets partner at UK firm Norton Rose, the creation of a European Securities Commission is necessary if the euro market is to become internationally credible. Proctor, speaking at the session Securities - related problems of the Euro, explained how the European Central Bank will have no specific powers over the securities markets. A European Securities Commission would unify the rules applicable to the public debt/equity markets across all member states, not solely the euro-zone. This would enhance the credibility of the euro and of the European financial markets and encourage free movement of capital across the EU.

UK firms Denton Hall, Richards Butler and Theodore Goddard are engaged in talks regarding a possible tripartite merger. If successful, the merger would produce the seventh largest law firm by lawyers based in the UK, and would have offices in 17 jurisdictions. Negotiations began in August and remain at an early stage of development. However, a plan for the merger may be put to partners by the end of the year. The new firm would have a significant global presence. Richards Butler has offices in Paris, Brussels, Piraeus, Warsaw, Beijing, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Oman, Islamabad, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The firm is also considering opening an office in Azerbaijan, where the new oil industry has stimulated foreign investment. Denton Hall has offices in Brussels, Moscow, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and New York. Theodore Goddard has an office in Brussels and associate offices in Paris and Jersey.

Following pressure from the opposition party, the Japanese Prime Minister has decided to withdraw legislation to rehabilitate the financial sector. The government was planning to use taxpayers' money to help bail out Japan's ailing banks but Minshuto, the Democratic Party of Japan, has proposed a rescue plan which will address the problems by allowing market forces to prevail. Naoto Kan, the leader of Minshuto, proposes that the Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB) be nationalized and no longer entitled to receive public money from a fund which was set up in February following the enactment of a new law to provide financial assistance to banks. Kan also proposes that an independent body be created to deal with failed financial institutions. The creation of this body, under Article three of the National Government Law, will result in a separation of budgetary and financial administration in the Ministry of Finance. However, this move is criticized by lawyers for its lack of long-term vision. Andrew Castle, banking partner at Allen & Overy in Tokyo, says: "These proposals do not provide an answer to the problems. Nationalizing the bank does not really mean anything in itself. The question they must address is whether they will find resources to keep LTCB in business or wind it up."

Freshfields, in a further move to build its US offices, has poached four partners from New York firm Milbank Tweed Hadley and McCloy. Ted Burke (project finance), Jonathan Rod (project bond finance) and Brian Rance (structured finance and derivatives) will join as partners in the New York office. Gregory May (tax) will join the Washington, DC office. Freshfields is concentrating on building up its project finance practice. Ian Terry, managing partner, says: "We will now have project finance specialists in all of the major jurisdictions. Expansion in the US will enable us to consolidate our practice with our US client base."

Facing addressive competition on three fronts, French firms need to abandon their approach to stay in the front rank. Barbara Galli reports from Paris

The International Bar Association's Council has passed a resolution on multidisciplinary practices (MDPs), its first acknowledgment that the joining of legal and accountancy practices is inevitable. The resolution calls on national regulators, including authorities which promote trade in services, to establish rules on MDPs to protect both practitioners and clients. Such rules should include measures to protect lawyers' independence and to prevent MDPs from representing conflicting interests. Client privilege and confidentiality should also be safeguarded.

Emile du Toit, general manager legal services at Absa, talks to Samantha Swiss about developing a group team after a merger