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James Hurlock, White & Case: "Similar arguments [in favour of mergers] would apply in other European countries. We are considering our options and other firms have approached us"

Coudert Brothers and Ernst & Young have recently entered the Canadian legal market. Most Canadian lawyers expect other US law firms or professional services firms to follow their example, and are reviewing their position. Paul Lee reports

Bank branches are the basic way for foreign banks to operate in China. This is an explanation of the complex application and licensing process. By Philip Gilligan and Steven Blayney of White & Case, Hong Kong

Important features of Law 9.514 of November 20 1997 include:

We are living at a time when electronic commerce is becoming an increasingly important factor in the world of business and finance. Yet the law has only begun to formulate principles and rules to govern these new methods of communication.

Dutch firm Trenité van Doorne is the first foreign law firm to open in Cuba. It officially opened the Havana office on November 12, with two Dutch lawyers, Jan Willem Bitter and Sebastiaan Berger, and one Cuban, Alejandro Cruz Román. Bitter explains the firm has had links in Cuba since the early 1990s, with lawyers frequently handling business there. Clients of the firm's Curaçao office began to be active in Cuba in the late 1980s. For the firm, the office is just a natural extension of these operations.

Because of the economic shakedown taking place in Thailand, 58 finance companies have been forced to shut down for an undisclosed period of time. Other finance companies and banks have been left in dire financial straits. The Thai government as a consequence has passed two Royal Proclamations to help tackle the financial crisis:

San Francisco-based Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is set to join the influx of US firms entering the London market. New York managing partner Michael Volstad says: "Sometime relatively early next year we should have an office in London; we are actively looking to get involved there." The firm, which is focusing on structured finance, has advertised for English lawyers and intends to have an English team in London and Tokyo. An advertisement, believed to be for Orrick Herrington, appeared recently in the legal press. It offered between US$500,000 and US$1 million for English-law qualified partners in the structured and project finance fields. It claims to be "an exceptional start-up opportunity".

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.

German firm Bruckhaus Westrick Stegemann is to merge with Austria's Heller, Löber, Bahn & Partners. This, the first cross-border merger between a German and an Austrian firm, takes effect from January 1 1998. "We at Bruckhaus do not want to end up as a German niche firm, we want to be an international firm. We are starting from our home market, the continent," explains Burkhard Bastuck, a partner in Bruckhaus's Frankfurt office. His Dusseldorf-based partner Günter Beckmann agrees: "Focusing our strengths in central Europe will also provide us with a foundation for expanded business in western Europe and in regions with Anglo-American legal traditions."