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Holders of a joint bank account in the UAE typically instruct the bank to allow 'either or survivor' to operate the account. The purpose of this mandate is to allow the surviving account-holders to continue to operate the account following the death of one of the other account-holders.

The Electronic Commerce Policy Committee has made recommendations for a national electronic commerce framework, to attract foreign and local companies to base electronic commerce hub activities in Singapore. Among its recommendations is the enactment of a proposed Electronic Transactions Bill, to provide the legal framework to address issues posed by electronic transactions and electronic commerce, such as:

The New Zealand government recently announced a package of 'in principle' reforms to the electricity industry, which have as their primary objective obtaining 'a better deal for electricity consumers'.

Citigroup, the new company formed by the Travelers/Citicorp merger, appears to breach the US’s regulatory barriers between financial services. But lawyers suggest there are possible structures for the company to offer the full range of services. Paul Lee reports

Traditional Italian lawyers are beginning to adapt to competition from larger overseas firms. The believe they must follow the English and American model while retaining Italian characteristics. Barbara Galli reports

Imperial Tobacco Group is buying Douwe Egberts Van Nelle Tobacco from Sara Lee/Douwe Egberts for £652 million. The acquisition is subject to Works Council consent in the Netherlands, regulatory clearance in a number of jurisdictions and the consent of Imperial Tobacco Group's shareholders. Ashurst Morris Crisp is acting for Imperial Tobacco Group, with a team led by corporate partners David Macfarlane and Jeremy Parr. The team includes partners Roger Finbow (competition), Ian Johnson (tax ), and Richard Kendall (finance). Nauta Dutilh's partner Joan van Marwijk Kooy is also advising Imperial Tobacco in the Netherlands. Schroders are acting as the financial advisers to the Group.

Two New York firms, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Shearman & Sterling are advising on the merger between US refuse controllers Waste Management and USA Waste. The merger is valued at $20 billion. Shearman & Sterling is counsel to USA Waste led by M&A partner John Marzulli in New York. Other New York partners are Mary Kate Wold (tax), John Cannon (competition), Margaret Murphy (environmental) and William Roll (litigation). Stephen Sunshine, a partner in Washington, dealt with antitrust matters.

US firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, and Shearman & Sterling have scooped the worlds's largest deal: the merger between Travelers Group and Citicorp, estimated at $166 billion. The merger announcement was expected to speed up plans for reform of US banking law, which prohibits bank holding companies from involvement in insurance business. Shearman & Sterling is representing Citicorp. Senior partner Stephen Volk and corporate specialist David Heleniak are leading the team.

Eurotunnel declared a moratorium on the payment of interest on the major part of its debt on September 14 1995. An outline agreement on a restructuring plan was reached between Eurotunnel and a steering group of its bank lenders 12 months later, on October 2 1996. Eight months later in May 1997, detailed terms sheets were agreed. The proposals were then put to Eurotunnel's shareholders and the whole banking syndicate of nearly 200 banks for approval — the agreement of each individual bank was required. The Restructuring Agreement was signed on January 29 1998 and the restructuring finally became effective two months later, on April 7 1998. The corporate structure of Eurotunnel is unusual. There are two separate corporate groups linked at the holding company level by the listing and trading of their shares in units, and at the level of the principal subsidiary of each group because the concession to build and operate the Channel Tunnel was granted jointly to the two companies (see box).

The Law Society of Singapore is lobbying the government to allow law firms to change their partnerships into private companies. Creating private companies would give partners limited liability and the society believes it would encourage more aggressive marketing strategies. The move is also being seen as a step to make domestic law firms compete more effectively with foreign law firms. The Law Society believes foreign firms in Singapore have greater resources and pools of talent than local firms. Limited liability for partners of firms would make mergers of law firms less risky for those involved.