Accessibility statement

Law, Commerce & Finance - LAW00036I

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  • Department: The York Law School
  • Module co-ordinator: Prof. Scott Slorach
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2021-22

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 2021-22 to Summer Term 2021-22

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.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Portfolio : Other		 N/A 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.

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Portfolio : Other		 N/A 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.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.