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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."

US law firm White & Case has been hired by the Republic of Panama to represent it during the privatization of the state-owned integrated electric utility. The Instituto de Recursos Hidraulicos y de Electrificacion (IRHE) is to be divided into eight companies in a two-phase process. On September 10, the first phase was completed with the sale of 51% stakes in the three distribution companies. Spanish company Union Fenosa acquired 51% of EDE Metro-Oeste SA, which serves Panama City, for US$212 million. As part of this deal, Union Fenosa also received 51% of EDE Chiriqui SA, which serves an area close to the Costa Rica border. US utility firm Constellation Power, a subsidiary of Baltimore Gas & Electric Co, bid approximately US$90 million for a 51% stake in EDE Noreste SA. The deals are expected to complete within 60 days.

ING Group has purchased a leading stake in German bank BHF-Bank. The deal, which is worth DM 2.5 billion ($1.4 billion), involved a number of separate transactions through which ING increased its holding of BHF-Bank shares from 4.5% to 39%. ING is now the largest single shareholder of BHF-Bank. The transaction was completed on September 14. Final completion of the acquisition is dependent on gaining the consent of the regulatory authorities. The shares were sold by Allianz, DG Bank and Münchener Rück.

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."

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

A recent Court of Appeal decision (Russell McVeagh McKenzie Bartleet v Tower Corporation) provides a useful indication to New Zealand law firms of the judiciary's approach to Chinese walls in large firms.

• Clifford Chance has recruited three new partners. Jason Glover will be based in London, while Pablo Bieger and José Antonio Cainzos join the Madrid office. Glover is a private equity specialist and he was formerly with Asian Infrastructure Fund Advisers. Bieger, a corporate finance specialist, joins from Garrigues & Andersen. He had left Clifford Chance for Arthur Andersen in 1996. Cainzos was head of the litigation department of Baker & McKenzie and he will hold the same position at Clifford Chance.

As a participating member state in the first group of countries to adopt the single currency in 1999, Portugal must ensure a smooth and effective transition to the euro in respect of the securities market.

Uncertainty in Irish legislation and case law has been unhelpful to the development of the Irish credit derivatives market and clarification is needed. By Judith Lawless of McCann FitzGerald, Dublin

On July 29 1998 the sale of Brazil's giant telecoms company, Telebrás, raised R$22 billion (US$19 billion), between U$4 billion and U$5 billion more than expected in the financial markets and representing a premium of 63.74% over the minimum price. The sale demonstrated the enthusiasm that multinational companies have for Latin America, and confirmed that international companies are willing to commit large resources into the emerging markets.