PREREQUISITES
Whilst there are no specific linguistic prerequisites students are asked to meet, they are nevertheless reminded, in consideration of the objectives and content of the course, that their English proficiency should be at least B2 (following the CEPR, “Common European Framework of Reference”).
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to introduce students to the study of the basics of business law as governed and regulated within the two most representative common law jurisdictions: the UK and the U.S.A. The course will be taught entirely in English in order to enable students to familiarize themselves with the legal nomenclature and to make them aware of the meaning of the relevant legal references. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the adequate linguistic ability to confidently approach and deal with the critical analysis of some of the essential business law issues raised within the aforementioned jurisdictions. In addition, given the increasing role of common law cross-border transactions, students, through seminars and the study of official legal documents, will be invited to explore some of the aspects related to business law in practice.
COURSE CONTENT
After a preliminary introduction to the main features of the UK and the U.S.A. legal systems, the course will focus on three areas of business law: Business Organizations, Securities Regulation and Insolvency/Business Restructurings.
In dealing with the Business Organizations’ section, the course will break down the characteristics of the most relevant for-profit organizations as regulated by the UK legislation and some of the leading U.S. state laws (predominantly Delaware): that is, partnerships and corporations (private and public).
In relation to Securities Regulation, the course will outline the basic functioning of stock markets in the UK and in the U.S.A., their participants and the activities carried out by sophisticated investors and intermediaries.
Finally, the course will provide students with the fundamentals of Insolvency Law and the Law of Business Restructurings, both in the UK and in the U.S.A., highlighting the various prerogatives and options which are made available to creditors by the law in the context of distressed businesses.
TEACHING
The course consists of 36 hours of frontal classes where students will be asked to participate and discuss the relevant issues. In this respect, students should consider reading the material carefully before attending the relevant class (following the instructions set out in the Course Syllabus): this is to maximize the level of their participation and to enable them to critically elaborate the various issues pertaining to each of the classes.
During the course there will be sections allocated for team-work so as to introduce students to English case-law reasoning. In addition, with the purpose of highlighting the practical impact of some of the theoretical issues discussed during the course, there will be sections, within the schedule already outlined, where business law experts/financial advisors will be invited to talk about specific cases related to the course program.
In order to make students more comfortable with their command of English legal writing, they will be asked to draft short essays on specific legal issues which will be previously agreed in class.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment is based on an oral exam which will consist of a number of questions (totalling three at least) about the program covered during the course, in accordance with the course reading material. Class attendance, together with the level of participation and the accuracy of the written essays given during the course will count towards 20% of the final mark.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. FORMATIVE COURSEWORK
Class attendance is not mandatory. However, in consideration of the specific course objectives and content, class attendance is strongly recommended. In fact, through regular attendance, participation to the discussion of the different issues and legal-writing practice, students will enhance their exposure to an effective, comprehensive and exhaustive learning process.