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Differences between US and English law have always been more apparent than real. The Gustafson decision brings the two even closer in respect of issuer liability. By Simon Gleeson of Richards Butler, London

General Motors, the US car company, has spun off its subsidiary Electronic Data Systems (EDS), the US software and consulting company, in a US$500 million transaction. EDS now has a listing on the New York and London stock exchanges.

UK firm Wilde Sapte has appointed 12 partners, 10 in the London office, one in Tokyo and one in New York.

José Fernandez has joined US firm O'Melveny & Myers as partner in charge of the firm's Latin America group. He will be resident in the New York and Los Angeles offices. Fernandez comes from the New York office of Baker & McKenzie, where he gained experience in Latin American mergers, infrastructure projects, and privatization work, including as adviser to the governments of Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay.

White & Case has announced that David Robbins will join the firm as a partner in its New York office. Robbins specializes in international corporate transactions, including project development and financing, and cross-border licensing. Formerly a partner with Reid & Priest in New York, he practised for four years in Japan and has represented Japanese companies for almost 20 years.

The trend towards structuring initial offshore purchases in US-registered public offerings as Regulation S transactions raises a number of legal questions. By David E Neuville of Baker & McKenzie, Hong Kong

German law firm Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund has officially opened its office in Berlin. The firm had been working out of the city since February having absorbed local practice Pfeiffer Brandes Neumann.

The Hungarian Ministry of Justice is considering a draft law for foreign lawyers in Hungary. The main elements are likely to be a requirement that foreign firms register with the Hungarian Bar and not just the Ministry of Trade, and that foreign firms form associations with local firms. Stephen Forster, of McKenna Ormai, Budapest (an association of a Hungarian and a British firm), says: "The proposals seem quite reasonable, although they are at an early stage." Laszlo Kopits of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Budapest, says: "All lawyers recognize that the operation of foreign firms must be regulated, rather than the free-for-all which now exists."

Law firms in Australia and New Zealand are meeting the onslaught of competition from professional services firms by trimming and streamlining services. The trend is towards a high-tech, highly specialized and user friendly law firm. Morgan Acker reports

Ros Wright, general counsel and director of policy, the Securities and Futures Authority, talks to Richard Forster