Reaction of N-methylallylamine with diethyl meso-2, 5-dibromoadipate in DMF at ambient temperature in the presence of potassium carbonate led directly to the two diastereomers of diethyl 2-allyl-N-methylpyrrolidine-2, 5-dicarboxylate. The reaction proceeds via a [2, 3]- sigmatropic Stevens rearrangement, which occurred spontaneously under the reaction conditions. This gave a higher yield under milder conditions than the traditional Stevens ...