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UK companies Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham are planning a £100 billion merger (US$60 billion) which will create the world's biggest drugs manufacturer and the world's third largest company after General Electric and Royal Dutch/Shell. The news follows the rumours surrounding a possible merger between SmithKline Beecham and American Home Products, now abandoned. UK firm Slaughter and May and US firm Sullivan & Cromwell are representing Glaxo Wellcome. Slaughter & May's corporate partners Glen James, Michael Pescod and Robert Stern worked with competition partners Michael Nicholson, Laura Carstensen and tax partner Howard Nowlan on the deal. Sullivan & Cromwell partner Ben Stapleton worked on M&A issues out of the New York office, assisted by London partners William Plapinger (securities) and Robert Osgood (antitrust).

UK firm Linklaters & Paines is extending its Asian practice by opening an office in Bangkok. The office, which opened in January, complements Linklaters' other Asian offices in Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Unlike other countries in south-east Asia, Thai bar rules enable foreign firms to employ local lawyers. Three lawyers have been taken on as partners to join managing partner Chris King. They join Linklaters from Thai firm International Legal Counsellors.

The UK's system of distinguishing levels of barristers should be disbanded, according to a report published by free market think-tank, the Adam Smith Institute. Its author, Peter Reeves, criticizes the system of Queen's Counsels (QCs or silks) as being costly and misleading. The radical proposal follows recent criticism made by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, about top commercial barristers charging excessive fees.

US firm Steel Hector & Davis, based in Florida, is to form an association with Brazilian firm Moreira Lima & Royster. The move highlights foreign firms' growing interest in establishing a presence in Brazil. Moreira Lima has offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Moreira Lima was created in late 1997 after two lawyers, Eduardo Moreira Lima and Michael Royster, left Brazilian firm Garcia & Keener Advogados. Joseph Pallot, partner at Steel Hector, says it provides his firm with an opportunity. "We had been looking at entering the Brazilian market since late 1996," he says. "Brazil is Florida's number one trading partner."

Hungarian lawyers are reacting furiously to accusations from foreign firms in the country that new proposals will restrict Hungary's legal market. Local lawyers claim instead that the proposals, which are expected to become law next week, will liberalize the market. They also claim that the reforms will enable foreign law firms to work in Hungary within the law–something they feel has not been the case so far.

For the second time, the Swedish Bar Association has forced Wahlin Adokatbyra to dismantle its links with big six firm KPMG. Wahlin, a firm created in 1997 as an associate law firm of the professional services giant, must abandon the cooperation agreements between the two firms or face being disbarred with immediate effect. Name partner Tryggve Wahlin says: "The Bar came to the conclusion that these agreements were not consistent with the independence of the professional lawyers in Sweden. I can accept that reason because I think that is important too, but I don't think our agreements were in conflict with it."

UK firm Allen & Overy announced that it is to merge with 65-lawyer Italian firm Brosio, Casati e Associati. Meanwhile, Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner has become the second German firm to open an office in Italy. In the last year the following foreign firms have all opened in Italy or added to an existing presence: Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Simmons & Simmons and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.

Price Waterhouse has linked with new Polish law firm Krzysztof Wierzbowski into its international network. In addition, the big six professional services firm has organized a close relationship with new Belgian firm Bogaert & Vandemeulebroeke. Both law firms were formed by lawyers leaving leading practices in their own country, and will maintain a degree of independence to avoid offending their local bar associations.

New York-based Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is set to open an office in Silicon Valley, California. It will be the centre of Skadden's high technology practice as well as focusing on mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property (IP) issues, capital market transactions and litigation matters.

Denton Hall has opened a New York office and appointed two insurance partners from Dibb Lupton Alsop. The new office will specialize in insurance and reinsurance, both contentious and non-contentious, as well as developing its commercial litigation and arbitration practice.