Studying at York
Law, Commerce & Finance - LAW00036I
Module summary
How is the law used to practical effect in commercial and financial transactions? This module provides an introduction to the way in which core principles of law are applied to agree parties’ rights and obligations, and protect their interests, in their commercial and financial dealings. Students will analyse and apply elements of foundation subjects such as obligations and property “in action” in a range of common commercial and financial transactions. Concepts such as risk and security will be considered, and students will analyse how these are dealt with in transactions. Students will also be introduced to new areas, such as insolvency and tax which have a major influence on commercial and financial transactions. Student activity will be varied and practical, and centred around a number of realistic, practical case studies, based around commercial and financial scenarios, and the related transactional documentation. Activities will combine PBL, simulations, document analysis and drafting skills, negotiation, and research tasks. The practical context of the case will also enable students to develop their commercial awareness.
Professional requirements
N/A
Related modules
Pre-requisite modules
Co-requisite modules
- None
Prohibited combinations
- None
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 to Summer Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
Students will develop a practical understanding of the way in which core principles of law are applied to agree parties’ rights and obligations, and protect their interests, in their commercial and financial dealings. Aligned to this knowledge will be the development of a number of practical legal skills, including document analysis and drafting. Knowledge, skills, and related commercial awareness, will all be developed in the context of realistic transactional scenarios and case studies, based on common commercial and financial transactions, using authentic transactional documentation.
The module also aims, as part of the overall LLB programme, to enable students to develop new and further critical perspectives on law, whilst progressively developing core academic and legal skills.
Module learning outcomes
- Explain, apply, discuss and critically evaluate well-established legal concepts, principles, theories and perspectives relevant to commercial and financial transactions
- Explain the anatomy of commercial and financial transaction documentation
- Discuss and critique the development and purpose of law and its application to common commercial and financial transactions
- Identify commercial and financial interests, and areas of risk for parties to commercial and financial transactions, and evaluate means by which interests can be met and risks managed
- Apply and evaluate critically problem-solving strategies to develop and propose solutions to practical legal problems
- Apply document analysis and legal drafting skills in the context of common commercial and financial transactions
- Develop individual opinions and arguments on commercial and financial legal issues and propositions, supported by appropriately critiqued academic evidence
- Plan, implement and evaluate research methodologies and strategies, and locate relevant and reliable sources and authorities
- Communicate the outputs of the above in a variety of written and oral formats and contexts to specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Demonstrate understanding of norms of professional legal practice and academic scholarship
- Reflect on learning and feedback, and use this in identifying future learning interests and needs
Module content
Students will consider aspects of foundational subjects of law such as obligations and property, and concepts such as risk and security. New, relevant areas of law, including aspects of insolvency and tax will be developed. In studying the anatomy of commercial and financial transaction documentation, students will develop an understanding of commonalities in structure, content and purpose.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
The portfolio will comprise a number of related outputs based on a scenario released to students at the end of the teaching period. These outputs will be designed to assess a range of the module learning outcomes and will vary in format. Examples could include:
- detailed letter of advice to client
- annotated transaction document, to include original drafting and/or amendments
- legal opinion or short article on specified legal or policy issue
- reflective report on specified knowledge and skills gained with reference to module scenarios
The latter output will be a standard item in every summative assessment of this module.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Students will receive regular feedback based on their contributions to workshops, and through peer and tutor review of outputs created for workshops, based on module scenarios. These outputs will be similar in format and purpose to those that comprise the summative assessment (see further below) and will thus have a role as informal formative assessment items. Students will receive written feedback on their summative assessment outputs, within the timescale set by the University's Feedback Turnaround Time policy. There will be a general "open-door" approach to further feedback and guidance during the module and following assessments should this be required by individual students.
Indicative reading
Due to practical and PBL elements of this programme, there will be no key texts detailed. However, students will be expected to locate and use practitioner texts, databases and know-how services, together with standard legal primary and secondary sources relevant to the module content.