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Start-Up Law (LAWS90108)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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Winter Term
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This subject will provide students with the legal skills to advise start-up companies on the legal issues those companies are likely to face in their early years of operation. The subject will cover the substantive law relevant to the particular circumstances of a start-up, including intellectual property, privacy, structuring options, start-up funding including crowd funding and Initial Coin Offerings, regulatory restrictions applying to LegalTech start-ups, the Australian Consumer Law, employment law and the tax incentives available for start-up companies in Australia. It will also cover some of the ethical issues involved in advising start-ups, such as the issues associated with advisers taking equity in their clients.

The subject will provide students with the opportunity to develop the specialist practical skills used in advising start-up companies.

Intended learning outcomes

Students who complete this subject will have developed specialised skills in advising and assisting start-up companies on the law relevant to their creation and growth.

On completion of the subject students should have developed the following skills:



  • The ability to identify the legal issues relevant to formation of a start-up;
  • The ability to understand and apply the different approaches to structuring a start-up and the advantages and disadvantages of the various structuring options; and
  • The ability to review and critique the principal agreements to be executed by start-ups, including Shareholders Agreements, Funding Agreements, Non Disclosure Agreements and technology licences.

Last updated: 24 January 2023