In memoriam Professor Luigi M. VenanziIn addition to h 3 -to h 1 -allyl rearrangement, h 2 -to h 1 -chelating-ligand rearrangements can affect the dynamic properties in allylpalladium complexes containing hemilabile ligands. These rearrangements have the potential of altering stereochemistry, which can ultimately affect the stereochemistry and regiochemistry of reactions upon the allyl group, e.g., allylic alkylation. Apparent rotation of an h 3 -allyl in four-coordinate Pd IIcomplexes can be the result of ligand exchange or intramolecular processes. NMR Studies indicate that the effects of h 2 -to h 1 -chelating-ligand stereochemistry and rearrangements may be hidden or subtle, and both intraand intermolecular processes may be important.Introduction. ± The synthetic utility of transition-metal-catalyzed alkylations involving allyl intermediates has been shown to be effective for the regio-and stereocontrolled formation of CÀC bonds over the past thirty years [1] [2]. Asymmetric variants have been developed more recently [3]. Early work focused on the use of bisphosphane ligands, such as chiraphos [3], where C 2 -symmetric ligands were considered to have special advantages [4]. More recently, however, some of the most impressive enantioselectivities have been obtained with asymmetric P,N ligands, e.g., phosphinoaryloxazolines [5 ± 13]. In general, the complexes show dynamic NMR spectra, which indicate that the complexes are rearranging rapidly. The stereodynamics in these systems can be important in enantioselective allylic alkylations and has been reviewed recently [14], but many of the principles were established previously [3] [15 ± 19]. A number of rearrangements are possible that can affect the geometry. In earlier work, there was a tendency to overemphasize the importance of a C 2 -symmetric ligand for obtaining high levels of asymmetric induction. However, the excellent levels of enantioselectivity obtained with P,N ligands has demonstrated that asymmetric bidentate ligands can be as effective as, if not superior to, C 2 -symmetric ligands [5 ± 13].With a C 2 -symmetric ligand, such as chiraphos [3], a rotation of the allyl group or the ligand will yield an equivalent structure; hence, the presence or absence of a rotation mechanism may be irrelevant. With a non-C 2 -symmetric ligand, however, a different isomer will be produced and this has the potential to have significant consequences with regard to the resulting stereochemistry of the allyl product (see Fig. 1). Although, regiochemistry has often been determined on the basis of substitution patterns of the termini of the allyl, Hayashi et al. have recently shown that the regiochemistry of nucleophilic attack in some cases can be determined by differences in trans influence of the phosphine and the other ligand [20].