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US firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton is to open an Italian office in early 1998. Based in Rome, the office will have about eight lawyers, both US and Italian qualified recruited from its other European offices. Cleary Gottlieb will be only the third US firm to open in Italy. However, the decision reflects the growing interest of many US and UK firms in Italy. Ned Stiles, partner ofa firm in Washington, sees the move as a natural progression: "We have a significant amount of business in Italy already, and our assessment was that it was right [to open an office]."

• 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.

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."

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.

As a follow-up to October’s equities survey, International Financial Law Review asked leading managers and issuers what they look for from their lawyers. A merger is one answer. Nick Ferguson reports

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.

In a circular letter the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) sets guidelines on the information barriers or Chinese Walls established in entities acting or advising on investment in the securities markets. This is to prevent the uncontrolled flow or improper use of confidential information generated in another part of the advising company.

The Finnish government recently issued a Bill on proposed amendments to the Credit Institutions Act and the Act on Investment Firms. The proposal aims to increase the efficiency of the supervision of credit institutions and to improve the information given by credit institutions and investment firms on their financial status. Furthermore, the proposal aims to harmonize the Credit Institutions Act and the Act on Investment Firms with the Accounting Act, the Auditing Act and the Companies Act.

Petroleum, Minerals, Energy & Resources Law

Ameritech, the Chicago-based telecommunications group, is to take a 40% stake in Tele Danmark, the Danish carrier. The deal is valued at US$3.1 billion. Ameritech is buying the 45 million shares from the Danish government, which partly privatized Tele Danmark three years ago. The deal will reduce the government's stake to 51%. US firm Kirkland & Ellis and Danish firm Bech-Brunn & Trolle advised Ameritech on US and Danish law issues. Corporate partner Robert Osborne led the team for Kirkland & Ellis alongside tax partners George Javaras and Herwig Schlunk. M&A partner Sven Krogstrup and banking and finance partner Jørgen Reimer Jensen handled the local law advice for Bech-Brunn & Trolle.