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Commercial Law in Practice (LAWS90059)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | Semester 2 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
This subject will examine, from an advanced and specialist point of view, the rules, principles and practices of commercial law. An underlying theme will be the way in which the different academic categories of law blend and interact in the commercial world.
Topics covered include:
- the legal building blocks of commercial law – for example sale of goods, loans, guarantees, hire;
- the commercial transfer of assets – for example sale of goods, assignment of contractual rights and novation;
- common commercial contract clauses and their significance; Standard and alternative financing techniques;
- issues of substance and form in commercial transactions, including the Personal Property Securities Act;
- practical aspects of executing commercial transactions; and
- how corporate insolvency influences the structure of commercial transactions.
This subject aims to equip students with an expert knowledge of the major areas of law within the field as well as integrating new practical skills, including those involved in planning a transaction, reviewing documents, assessing the interplay and implications of common law and statutory regimes.
Within the various topics, students will also consider a comparative law analysis.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject will have developed a solid grounding in the building blocks of commercial law and will understand the various competing interests and issues that drive the way in which commercial transactions are structured and implemented.
Students will also gain experience in how case law, legislation, contractual terms, regulator guidance and commentary, and legal market practice can combine to influence the terms and structuring of commercial transactions. In particular, students will:
- have training in areas they will encounter in commercial legal practice in Australia, including in identifying legal and commercial risk and drafting and critiquing complex commercial documents;
- understand the interplay of commercial, legal and regulatory considerations involved in assessing the issues and risks in a commercial transaction;
- have a detailed understanding of financing and commercial structuring techniques that are used not just in Australia but in the international commercial markets generally; and
- learn how to analyse case law, regulator guidance and commentary, and market practice.
Generic skills
On completion of the subject students should have developed and demonstrated their skills as follows:
- cognitive skills to demonstrate mastery of theoretical knowledge and to apply that knowledge (including core legal principles and concepts studied in compulsory JD subjects) in the context of the practice of commercial law;
- specialist understanding, interpretation, critical reflection and synthesis of legislation and cases relating to commercial law in Australia;
- technical skills in relation to designing and analysing complex legal structures and issues, as well as communication skills in relation to advising legal and non-legal audiences on such structures and issues, as demonstrated in the interim assessment task;
- technical skills in relation to analysing the elements and competing legal and commercial imperatives in complex commercial transactions, as demonstrated in the problem-solving exercises in the examination; and
- communication skills effective for the delivery of complex concepts to a diversity of specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
Successful completion of all the below subjects:
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
LAWS50023 | Legal Method and Reasoning |
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50025 | Torts |
November (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50026 | Obligations |
May (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
LAWS50029 | Contracts | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LAWS50030 | Property |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Assessment
Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Written advice / transaction review
| During the teaching period | 40% |
Open book exam
| During the examination period | 60% |
Additional details
The due date of the above assessment will be available to students via the Assessment Schedule on the LMS Community.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator Hal Bolitho Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 36 hours Total time commitment 144 hours Teaching period 3 August 2020 to 1 November 2020 Last self-enrol date 14 August 2020 Census date 21 September 2020 Last date to withdraw without fail 16 October 2020 Assessment period ends 27 November 2020
Additional delivery details
This subject has an enrolment quota of 60 students.
Enrolments occur on a first come, first served basis up to quota, except for the timely re-enrolment period. Timely enrolments enter a selection process, and unsuccessful enrolments are withdrawn.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law School website for further information about the management of subject quotas.
Last updated: 3 November 2022
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Australian Finance Law 7th Ed, King & Wood Mallesons, Thomson Reuters.
- Specialist materials will also be made available from Melbourne Law School.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Juris Doctor - Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 3 November 2022