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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.

New York firm Reid & Priest and San Francisco form Thelen Marrin Johnson Bridges confirmed market speculation by announcing, on April 6, they are to merge (see IFLRev, April 1998, page 3). It is the largest merger between east and west coast firms, combining over 350 lawyers. The new firm will be known as Thelen Reid & Priest when the merger is formalized on June 30. Richard Gary, Thelen Marrin's chairman, will become chairman of the new firm and Thomas Igoe, chairman of Reid & Priest, becomes vice-president.

• US firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has poached a five-lawyer fund management team from US rival Baker & McKenzie. The team is led by partners Steven Howard and Scott MacLeod.

Howard Trust, General Counsel, The Barclays Group, talks to Diana Bentley

A wide-ranging reform and codification of Italian capital markets law tidies up some outstanding problems. It also introduces detailed rules on corporate governance. By Susanna Beltramo and Stefano Agnoli of Studio Legale Beltramo, Rome

The OECD convention against corruption is a major step against bribery. But a totally fair market is still far off. By Michael Hershman of Decision Strategies/Fairfax International LLC, Falls Church, Virginia

Under Swiss law, domestic investment funds, including hedge funds, are to be organized either as investment companies or multiple investors' contracts. Multiple investors' contracts will be governed by the Swiss Law on Investment Funds, while investment companies are subject to the Swiss Company Law, which is part of the Swiss Code of Obligations. If investment companies are listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange, they will also be subject to the listing rules of the stock exchange.

The law of the country where a bank account is kept will usually govern the banker-customer contract. However, the law of another country may affect the account.

On December 11 1997, the ordinary shareholders' meeting of Borsa Italiana SpA, the company to which the organization and management of the Italian regulated markets of financial instruments has been attributed, adopted the regulation aimed at governing the markets, so implementing Article 47 of Legislative Decree No. 415 of July 23 1996.

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