As anyone who has seen war-torn Beirut on television news might expect, there is likely to be an emphasis on construction work as part of the country's redevelopment.However, impressions of the country gained solely from TV pictures of buildings reduced to rubble are likely to be misleading, according to UK solicitors attending the British Middle East Law Council (BMELC) conference in Beirut earlier this month.The conference, 'The Lebanon legal update for redevelopment and recovery', brought together around 30 British solicitors and 200 Lebanese delegates.

It was organised with support from the Law Society and the Beirut Bar Association and speakers included senior representatives in the Lebanese government.Despite its shattered buildings, if the peace holds, Lebanon is likely to normalise far more quickly and easily than the recently emerging markets of eastern Europe.

'Countries in eastern Europe have more difficulties because they are recovering from problems with the system,' says Michael Clode, a partner in Freshfields' finance department and deputy secretary-general of the BMELC.

'Whereas in Lebanon, although they are recovering from physical damage, they do have an established and competent legal profession -- which was totally lacking in eastern European countries.

Nobody had formed a public company in eastern Europe since 1939, whereas in Lebanon they have a quite sophisticated, French-based legal system which just needs some minor additions.'Work for foreign lawyers is likely to fall into two broad categories: assisting construction companies, whether with their contracts or on the financial aspects; and in helping update Lebanese banking and securities practices.Philip Newhouse, a partner in Taylor Joynson Garrett's corporate department, shares Mr Clode's optimism about the country's ability to rebuild itself.

'They are highly sophisticated people who are used to a capitalist system.

They are not being asked to overcome 50 years of state rule.

The war went on for 15 years, and there are still a lot of people around now who were around beforehand,' he says.Robert Fenwick Elliott, of the specialist construction firm Fenwick Elliott, agrees that the Lebanese lawyers are fully prepared for their new role.

He gave a paper at the conference on construction law -- and was followed immediately afterwards by a Lebanese lawyer explaining the local impact of the very suit he had been talking about, he says.Despite the Lebanon's legal system being based on the Napoleonic code, UK lawyers believe they will be particularly well placed to sweep up the work available.

Mr Clode says: 'There is a definite mood to move away from a civil code system to adopting common law techniques.

Common law is seen as the law of business in the developing world, which gives us a huge advantage.'It is not just French lawyers who are lik ely to lose out.

Lawyers in the USA are currently banned by their government from doing work in the area.

The Americans are, says Mr Clode, shooting themselves in the foot, adding: 'Long may it continue.'The aim of the conference was to put forward changes which would make outside investors feel confident about putting their money into Lebanon.

These covered everything from international trade regulations to construction, shipping, insurance, arbitration and project financing.

However, Mr Newhouse warns that it also needs to be careful not to be too attractive to the wrong sort of people.

'They already have an off shore and holding company regime which is really quite good,' he says.

But if Lebanon wants to set itself up as an off-shore financial centre, it will need to introduce laws to deal with the problem of money laundering, he says.

'Its banking secrecy is the most stringent in the world, which means you can be interesting to people you don't want.' Without proper safeguards and a proper balance, it could find itself becoming like 'some of the more dubious Caribbean tax havens', he warns.At the end of the conference's three days, the UK and Lebanese participants drew up a lengthy list of recommended action, which included checks to deter money launderers.

Despite the ambitious nature of some of the recommendations, Mr Clode is confident that progress will be rapid.

The Lebanese government has already set up a committee, including people from its finance and justice ministries, for this purpose, he says.

He also expects that UK lawyers will have a substantial input into its deliberations.One of the priorities will be to set up a trust system -- essential if Lebanon is to have syndicated loans.

But despite the strong involvement of UK lawyers, this is one example where another country's practice cannot simply be grafted on to the Lebanese system, says Mr Newhouse.

The trick for foreign advisers will be to come up with proposals which will make Lebanon attractive to the international business community, but which take into account and are compatible with its existing procedures.

'It is a feature of the Arab system to have a set pattern of inheritance.

You cannot leave your estate as you necessarily want to.

What we have suggested is that anyone who puts his assets into a trust can get them out.

Trusts would be treated as being outside the estate,' he says.1994