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Commercial Law in Practice (LAWS90059)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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Semester 1
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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: 10 October 2024