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Clark Randt, a Shearman & Sterling partner, has resigned from his firm to take up one the toughest diplomatic posts in the world. US president George W Bush announced his intention to appoint "Sandy" as US ambassador to China at the end of April, but his official appointment did not take place until July. Randt and Bush met as students at Yale University and have remained friends since then. "Sandy Randt has spent most of his professional career working with China in the foreign service and in business matters," says the president. "His expertise in the Chinese language and culture, international business, and foreign affairs will help us strengthen our important relationship with China as he serves as our next US ambassador."

Following Telecom Italia’s securitization of fixed-line telephone bills, Thomas Williams reports on how a new market is opening up for European telecommunications companies, and their legal advisers, who are struggling to raise finance now the TMT bubble has burst

Lovells has pressed ahead with its European expansion plans and announced a merger with French corporate law firm Siméon & Associés. 12-partner Siméon will merge with the UK firm on November 1, boosting Lovells in Paris to 25 partners working with 80 other lawyers. The merger will almost double the UK firm's corporate and tax department just as evidence emerges that many European clients have made severe cuts in their mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and capital markets activities. Six M&A specialists will join Lovells from the French firm, bringing the strength of its Paris office to 13.

The Australian government has taken an active and progressive view on financial legislation, this year introducing a series of significant reforms. Don Harding of Freehills, Sydney, assesses the new Corporations Act and the progress being made towards reform of financial services provision

In the wake of the collapse in dot.com shares, regulators in the US are attempting to promote increased independence among analysts and greater openness about their interests. Diane Mage Roberts of O’Melveny & Myers, London, looks at the new guidelines and argues that it is time for analysts to assert their neutrality or lose relevance in the market

On April 10 2001 the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a consultation paper reviewing the Codes on Takeovers and Mergers and Share Repurchases relating to public companies.

European Commission officials are considering whether to block a hostile bid for Montedison. The Italian industrial group is the target of a $4.18 billion joint offer by the acquisitive French utility company Électricité de France (EDF) and Italian carmaker Fiat. The Commission's decision is a particularly difficult one because of the way in which Fiat and EDF have structured their bid. Both are bidding through their joint venture company Italenergia, which has no turnover, while Montedison itself gets two-thirds of its revenues from the Italian market. Under EU rules each merger partner has to have euro 250 million ($215 million) in more than one EU country. Whether the deal is a matter for Italian regulators or the Commission will depend on whether EU officials consider the assets of Fiat and EDF separately.

Herbert Smith advised lead manager Royal Bank of Scotland and trustee Citicorp on the £251 million ($351 million) mixed asset securitization for UK retail lender and insurer Paragon. The securitization involved combing loan and second mortgage principal and income payments into a single issue. Finance partner Jane Borrows led the Herbert Smith team, which also included derivatives specialist Dina Abagli, tax specialist Bradley Phillips and property partner James Barnes. Slaughter and May partner Chris Smith advised Paragon with Scottish firm Tods Murray and Northern Ireland firm L'Estrange & Brett advising on Scottish and Northern Irish law respectively.

Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood has closed Asia's first whole-business securitization, using Malaysia's UK-style insolvency and security laws to structure a deal robust enough to satisfy the rating agencies. The $250 million floating rate secured note benchmark deal, arranged by Nomura International for 1st Silicon, a new silicon water fabrication plant in Sarawak, has created the potential to use whole-business legal technology elsewhere in the region.

Richard Walker, director of enforcement for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has quit the regulator after 10 years of service in another blow to the Commission's recruitment needs. Walker's decision to leave the regulator for more lucrative rewards in industry mirrors increasingly frequent moves by the SEC's lawyers, accountants and examiners. Acting SEC chairman Laura Unger has been reported as stating that high-level departures at the watchdog have created a "staffing crisis".