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A team of lawyers has left German firm Hölters & Elsing, Dusseldorf, to set up their own firm. Corporate partner Rainer Velten and Christian Franz, Bernd Mayer and Markus Jakoby have formed Velten Franz Mayer & Jakoby, with offices in Dusseldorf and Berlin. The firm will specialize in corporate and real estate transactions, and plans to open an office in Frankfurt shortly.

International Financial Law Review understands that Bureau Francis Lefebvre and Briones, Alonso & Martin, leading firms, particularly in the tax field, in France and Spain respectively, have agreed a merger of their Spanish operations. The two will link formally on October 1 1997. The move is likely to be seen as a defensive reaction to the J&A Garrigues/Arthur Andersen merger in Spain, which puts particular pressure on tax firms. A full report on this merger will appear in the October issue of the magazine.

Coudert Brothers has announced it is to incorporate Montreal firm McDougall, Caron into its international network. The move into Canada is rare for an international US law firm and is the first US foray into Quebec. The firm has opened new offices in Berlin, St Petersburg and Denver in the last two years.

Under Swedish legislation (12:2 of the Companies Act), a Swedish company may not pay a dividend to its shareholders exceeding the free equity as shown in the most recent balance sheet adopted. Even within the free equity, a dividend may not be paid if it contravenes good business practice as dictated by the company's or group's capitalization, cash position or general financial situation.

On June 3 1997, as part of a comprehensive effort to encourage the development of the securities market, the Uruguayan Central Bank (BCU) issued Circular No. 1,549 implementing the Investment Funds Act passed by Congress on September 17 1996.

To carry out proper due diligence as required by Colombian law, the following general guidelines on corporate duties, government permits, labour matters and taxation should be followed.

Burlington Resources and Louisiana Land and Exploration have combined. The deal is valued at US$3 billion. The combined company will be one of the leading independent energy exploration and production companies worldwide.

• Nancy Wodka, a project finance specialist, has moved from the Washington office of New York's Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to the Washington office of Houston-based Bracewell & Patterson LLP. She will head the firm's team on international infrastructure projects .

Clifford Chance has opened a second office in Germany. The Dusseldorf office is intended to capitalize on the heavy industries present in the Rhine-Ruhr area. Jan ter Haar, managing partner of Clifford Chance's Frankfurt office, explains: "We will be doing mainly corporate and M&A work, but we expect to pick up on the presence of IT and media sectors and bolster those practices too."

McCarthy Tétrault, Toronto and London