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US firm Kaye Scholer Fierman Hays & Handler has lost corporate partners in New York and Los Angeles including vice-chair of the firm Robert Finley. Finley, who was co-head of the corporate and finance practice, has joined the New York office of Clifford Chance. The English firm is seeking to develop a New York banking practice having built a team of 40 US securities lawyers in New York, London and Hong Kong.

"Three years ago we asked if they wanted to merge and they decided to stay on their own. But over the last few years they have decided that might have been the wrong decision," says Rene Stokman, chairman of Benelux firm Loeff Claeys Verbeke, of Dutch firm Buruma Maris's belated decision to accept a merger proposal. The merger solves a gap in Loeff's coverage, giving it a solid base in The Hague. "Opening there was always on our agenda, and a merger was the easiest way to do that," says Stokman. "It was just a problem of finding the right fit." He notes that the firms rarely meet in practice and so do not expect too many conflicts. Loeff is strong in company law, while Buruma specializes in property, intellectual property, administrative, labour, litigation and telecoms law. Stokman believes that Buruma's litigation practice is particularly attractive, partly because lawyers are admitted to the High Court and are therefore regarded as of the top rank.

A recent case underlines the reluctance of UK courts to impose personal duties on directors of companies where there is economic loss but not personal injury. By David Kavanagh of Watson, Farley & Williams, London

The Hungarian parliament will shortly consider major company law reforms, setting more stringent financial criteria and modernizing other corporate requirements. By Zoltán Grmela of Gárdos, Benke, Mosonyi, Tomori, Budapest

The first UK Budget from 'New Labour' on July 2 kept the possibility of a general statutory anti-avoidance provision — perhaps on the Australian model — very much alive, but did not actually contain proposals for one. So for the time being that leaves UK advisers to work out the significance, if any, of some very broad statements in the House of Lords, as the ultimate level of tax appeal, in its decision on June 12 1997 in McGuckian. This was a victory for the UK Revenue, but how important a victory remains to be seen.

By the end of fiscal 2000, a momentous series of reforms should have opened the Japanese financial markets. The government’s programme is reviewed by Naoaki Eguchi, Yasushi Murofushi and Jeremy Pitts of Tokyo Aoyama Law Office-Baker & McKenzie, Tokyo

On July 1 1997, the EU made a fresh offer to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the course of the current talks aimed at liberalizing financial services worldwide. The new offer increases the scope of the previous offer, which included, among other things, free access (on a most-favoured-nation basis) for foreign institutions to the EU's internal market in financial services, and the right to establish branches.

The London office of New York's Debevoise & Plimpton has won Arthur Marriott from rivals Washington DC-based Wilmer Cutler & Pickering. A leading English advocate, Marriott was one of the first two solicitors made Queen's Counsel in March this year. He takes two assistants with him "Having Marriott will be of great benefit to our clients, for now we will have leading professionals in the international dispute-resolution field on both sides of the Atlantic," says Debevoise's presiding partner Barry Brown. "This move also reflects the firm's overall commitment to our international practice, and to London in particular." International arbitration and litigation issues were formerly handled largely from the firm's New York and Paris offices.

The recent publication of the German Banking Supervisory Authority’s Circular 4/97 clears the way for the development of a significant ABS market in the Federal Republic. By Alexander Vogt and Kurt Dittrich of Oppenhoff & Rädler, Frankfurt

The International Bar Association (IBA) has set up a drafting group to produce a position paper on multi-disciplinary partnerships (MDPs). The group, established by the IBA's standing committee on MDPs, aims to submit the paper to IBA president Desmond Fernando in October. Fernando's comments will then be put before the committee in New Delhi in November. The drafting team will be: Ward Bower of consultants Altman Weil Pensa and chairman of the standing committee; Tony Huydecoper, dean of the Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (the Dutch bar association); David Andrews of the David Andrews Partnership; and Heinz Loeber, name partner at Germany's Heller Loeber Bahn & Partners.