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• New York's Brown & Wood has added two lawyers from Baltimore-based Piper & Marbury to form a new Korean practice. Jaemin Park and Jay Cohen both join the firm's Washington DC office as partners. • The Washington DC office of Chicago's Sidley & Austin has added White House associate counsel Karen Popp as a partner. Popp will work in the firm's corporate crime, internal investigations and commercial litigation practices. She has worked at the White House for the last two years, advising congressional and grand jury investigations.

UK firm Herbert Smith has opened an office in Bangkok. The office will practise both UK and local law and will enable the firm to consolidate its position in Asia. Heading the office is Henry Usckinski, formerly head of international arbitration at Coudert Brothers in Hong Kong. He will be assisted by Jonathan Pyne, a senior associate in corporate finance and former co-head of investment banking at Thai securities firm Krungthai Thanakit. The firm wants to include Thai expertise in its office and will recruit six to eight lawyers including Thai nationals.

Freshfields of the UK and Germany's Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund have signed an agreement to associate formally with 40-lawyer Austrian firm Wolf Theiss & Partners. The firms have agreed to share resources and refer clients where necessary, as well as to exchange lawyers and form cross-firm practice groups. Partner Richard Wolf of Wolf Theiss explains: "We were in talks with Deringer when they were also talking to Freshfields, so we were able to seize the opportunity of doing something with both of them."

Brazil has won international support for its reform programme. A $41.5 billion loan is being made available over three years; $37 billion to be used, if necessary, in the first 12 months. Of the total amount, $18 billion is being secured by the IMF, $4.5 billion by the World Bank, $4.5 billion by the Inter-American Development Bank and $14.5 billion by a pool of 20 countries, including a contribution of $5 billion from the US. In return, Brazil is committed to attaining budget surpluses, before interest, of 2.6% of GDP in 1999, 2.8% in 2000 and 3% in 2001. The government aims to achieve this by implementing a programme described in a memorandum, which makes clear that the present exchange rate policy will remain unchanged to secure a low inflation rate. Brazilian domestic interest rates will be kept at about 20% in 1999. About $9 billion should be disbursed when the IMF approves the memorandum in a couple of weeks. Another instalment of about $9 billion would be available in February 1999 if the IMF is satisfied with the implementation of the programme. The programme includes:

On October 6 1998 the People's Bank of China ordered the closure of a non-bank financial institution, Guangdong International Trust and Investment Co (GITIC). Although this has worried foreign financial institutions and the media, it must be seen as a significant step towards a market economy and the implementation of the rule of law.

Allen & Overy has formally announced that its link with French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel is over. The two firms say they remain good friends and will continue to refer work to each other when appropriate. The third firm in the relationship, Loeff Claeys Verbeke, will continue its association with both firms. The link has ended owing to Allen & Overy's wish to build up its own French legal capability as reported in the November issue of IFLR.

Simon Gleeson, head of Richards Butler's financial services unit, is joining Allen & Overy on November 23. He will assist the firm in the development of its financial services group, providing advice on regulatory matters. The firm plans to create a group providing advice on UK regulations in financial services. The group will be built on the back of its banking practice, and, says Allen & Overy, will take a proactive role in the market. Gleeson says: "Regulatory advisers can be swamped with referral work by other parts of the firm. We want to go out in the market and build up direct relations with clients, providing them with a service which they don't get from the corporate guy."

Barbara Galli talks to Olivér Glatz, General Counsel of the National Bank of Hungary

In 1991, the House of Lords held that entering into interest rate swaps was outside the statutory powers of local authorities (Hazell v Hammersmith & Fulham). When banks claimed for restitution of sums paid to local authorities under void swaps, their claims were hindered by the 200 year old principle of law that money paid under a mistake of law is not recoverable. In Kleinwort Benson v Lincoln City Council, the House of Lords has now ruled that payments made under a mistake of law are recoverable. The law lords, by a 3-2 majority, held that:

As consolidation in the Swiss legal market continues, lawyers are divided over the need to look beyond national boundaries. Stephen Mulrenan reports from Zurich and Geneva