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• UK firm Simmons & Simmons has poached Angus Phang from US firm Baker & McKenzie's Hong Kong office. Phang will head the firm's Asia Pacific IP practice as partner Christopher Head moves from Hong Kong to create a New York IP department.The firm has also hired immigration specialist Garth Coates from rival City firm Lovell White Durrant. Coates, former head of immigration at Lovell's will join Hilary Belchak's immigration group at Simmons. "His experience and expertise will be invaluable in enabling us to fulfill the increasingly complex needs of our clients, both in the UK and overseas across all industry sectors," Belchak said.

The Swiss government has decided that no statutory change is necessary; existing legal doctrines should ensure continuity of contracts. By Martin Anderson and Urs Schenker of Baker & McKenzie, Geneva and Zurich

Brown & Wood is set to develop its Latin American capital markets practice by opening an office in São Paulo. New York partner Michael Fitzgerald, co-head of corporate securities and who supervises the Latin America practice, says: "We have a lawyer there who is affiliated with the firm and we are in the process of negotiating a lease. I think we will have some kind of representative office with an associate in São Paulo within the next six months." The move follows announcements from New York rival White & Case and the UK's Linklaters & Paines, that they too are opening São Paulo offices (see International Financial Law Review, October 1997, page 5).

Despite confusion created by a speech made to the IBA by a leading Japanese lawyer, it is clear that reforms to the Japanese legal market will not enable international firms to hire Japanese lawyers (bengoshi). Foreign firms in Japan have been lobbying the ministry of justice commission to fully liberalize the legal system, and the decision to continue restrictions on foreign firms in Tokyo has been greeted with disappointment. Toshiro Nishimura, name partner of Nishimura & Partners and member of the ministry of justice commission, caused the confusion when speaking of the advancement of partnerships between Japanese and international firms. However, he has since clarified that he was referring to the decision to relax the rules on joint enterprises. The few firms which work in a joint enterprise will now be able to work on all areas of international law, including litigation. Work on any domestic law is still forbidden. Nishimura claims the reforms will be beneficial to foreign firms. He says: "I expect the number of firms with cooperation pacts to rise, this should be an incentive for firms."

The legal preparations for the introduction of the euro have moved on. Geoffrey Yeowart of Lovell White Durrant, London, updates the answers given in the January issue to the most frequently asked legal questions

New York's Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is opening a full office in Los Angeles after promoting associate Dan Clinver to partnership. The firm has had a presence in Los Angeles for some time, primarily to service key client Seagram, the acquisitive Canadian entertainment and drinks group. New partner Dan Clinver will head the office focusing on corporate matters.

Against the backdrop of greater political stability and improving economic prospects, Pakistan has recently made it easier to float companies. By Mansoor H Khan of Khan & Associates, Lahore

On December 26 1996, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay upheld the constitutionality of Law No. 814/96, the so-called Pangrazio Law, which proposed to indemnify all account holders incurring losses with the commercial banks that collapsed following the May 1995 banking crisis in Paraguay. The scope of the indemnification authorized by the law included the holders of unregistered accounts — that is, accounts represented by bearer deposit receipts, as opposed to accounts registered in the names of the holders.

In a key policy speech given by the Deputy Prime Minister, who chairs the Financial Sector Review Group, it was made clear that the Singapore government, in its focus on making Singapore a regional financial centre, is rethinking its entire strategy. In particular, the emphasis will now be shifted from regulation to supervision of the financial sector, with greater reliance placed on market forces and market discipline and on full information disclosure rather than extensive regulations to protect investors. Greater transparency will also be provided in regulations, and attention will be focussed on systemic risk rather than undue protection of individual participants, products or projects.

Amendments to the Securities Act 1978 which came into force on October 1 will almost certainly increase costs for overseas issuers of securities to the New Zealand public. The Securities Commission recently declared that overseas issuers will need to meet the new requirements.