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Former special counsel at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Walter Van Dorn, is to join the London office of US firm Rogers & Wells. Based for a transition period in the firm's Washington DC office, he expects to be permanently resident in the UK by around October. Van Dorn expects to work on ADR offerings and listing of non-US companies on US exchanges. "London is really the hub for trans-national and international work. With the fall of the communist bloc that demand increased," he says. "Rogers & Wells was looking for US lawyers as are a lot of US firms. European companies need this sort of advice, and it is convenient to have the skills on offer in London so clients can cut right to the chase."

The Bank of Italy has recently amended Chapter LXI of the Istruzioni di Vigilanza (Supervisory Rules) which govern capital adequacy in relation to market risk and apply to all banks and banking groups with the exception of Italian branches of non-EU banks whose registered offices are in countries belonging to the Group of Ten.

The Hungarian Civil Code rules on mortgages and pledges were recently amended by Act XXVI of 1996. The Act was adopted by parliament on April 9 1996 and some provisions entered into effect on May 1 1996, but the remaining provisions take effect on May 1 1997. This briefing outlines the main changes.

The last 12 months have seen big changes in the Swedish legal market. Mid-sized firms in particular are taking strategic decisions to merge or make international links. Samantha Wigham reports

Under the merger control rules of the Austrian Cartel Act (ACA) a pre-closing filing is required if the combined turnover of all participating undertakings amounts to at least Sch3.5 billion (US$290 million), provided that the turnover of at least two undertakings involved in the merger is at least Sch5 million. Because Section 42a para 1 ACA does not qualify the term 'turnover' (Umsatz)in geographic terms, and because the preparatory documents of the Cartel Law Amendment Act confirm the irrelevance of the distinction between domestic and foreign turnover, the Austrian Cartel Court initially applied the threshold to worldwide turnover. From the outset the turnover thresholds for the pre-closing filing requirement under Section 42a para 1 of the ACA have been considered too low. Because the Austrian Cartel Court only applied fairly weak structural link and effects tests to limit the jurisdiction of the court with respect to 'foreign' mergers and business combinations, transactions with a negligible Austrian content were subject to the pre-closing filing requirement and the one-month waiting period provided for under Section 42b ACA.

Robert Mooney, general counsel and deputy chief administrative officer, Asia Pacific region, Merrill Lynch, talks to Richard Forster

Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel, New York, and Freshfields, London, are representing Tyco International, the world's largest manufacturer of fire and safety systems, in its US$5.6 billion merger with ADT, the largest provider of electric security services in North America. Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, Appleby, Spurling & Kempe, Bermuda, and Allen & Overy, London, are advising ADT.

Beijing Datang Power Generation Company has listed on both the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It is the first Chinese company to have an equity listing in London. The share offer raised about US$400 million and was made possible by the signing last October of a Memorandum of Understanding by regulators and exchanges in the UK and China.

First Bank System of Minnesota is making an agreed US$8.7 billion all-share bid for US Bancorp. The merged bank will be known as US Bancorp, and will be the eighth-largest US bank by market capitalization. The deal highlights the trend towards geographic consolidation among US banks.

A team of associates from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom's Beijing office has defected to Vinson & Elkins. The move halves Skadden's Beijing office, leaving two partners and three associates.