Professor (Dr) Christopher Symes
Room 2.23
Phone 8313 4452 (this will divert to my mobile)

Email christopher.f.symes@adelaide.edu.au
(note this is a little different to most email addresses at Uni of Adelaide)
Note I am working remotely for most of the semester
No other staff teach this course

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify the informal and formal insolvency procedures available to corporate Australia, the legal principles governing the cross border insolvency and the key economic and social aspects of the practice of corporate insolvency law

2. Explain, analyse, evaluate, synthesise and solve practical issues about corporations, corporate officers, shareholders and creditors in the insolvency setting

3. Write clearly and concisely about Corporate Insolvency Law 

4. Apply excellent research skills to identify and effectively use Corporate Insolvency Law resources

5. Develop critical thinking about how to improve Corporate Insolvency Law

6. Comment on the ethical development of Corproate Insolvency Law

The textbook used is Symes, Brown & Lombard, Australian Insolvency Law (4th ed, 2019) combined with Symes, Brown, Wellard, Australian Insolvency Law Cases and Materials (2016)

Students will also require a copy/access of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and any of the legal publisher’s versions (lexisnexis, Thomson Reuters or CCH) is acceptable.

Murray & Harris, Keay's Insolvency Personal and Corporate Law 10th edition 2018

Throughout the course a list of other resources will be provided on MyUni

This online course will use MyUni for announcements, display of Powerpoint slides, lecture outlines, lecture recordings,seminar recordings, zoom addresses for particpation and any additional case and other material required to be read for seminars. This course will also require you to use MyUni for all assessment, including submission of essays, and a series of Online Quizzes.

On-line recorded Lectures will generally take the form of an outline of the topic and its key issues. Students are expected to keep up with the corresponding reading in Symes, Brown and Lombard, or as otherwise indicated by the lecturer. The lecturer may provide outlines, slides or additional material.

On-line live Seminars, that immediately follow the lecture time slot, will concentrate on in-depth consideration of questions, including problem-solving, provided in advance of the seminar on MyUni under 'modules'. Students are expected to read the cases and other materials and questions set prior to the seminar. Seminars are an important component of your learning in this course and therefore it is in your interests to make every effort to log on to zoom and participate. The communication skills developed in seminars by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be important by the School, and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

Contact time: listen to the weekly two hour recorded lecture and zoom into the online one hour seminar.

Preparation Time: In addition to attending formal online classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments.
 
12 hours (including contact time) for a full time load (48 hours)

Week 1

Introduction to Corporate Insolvency – statistics, theories, principles, reports, definition


Week 2

Receivership – appointment, powers, duties, agency, creditors, relationships


Week 3

Voluntary Administration I – objects clause, appointment, conduct, meetings



Week 4

Voluntary Administration II – effect, moratorium, court involvement



Week 5

Deeds of Company Arrangement – deed administrator, content, effect, powers and duties, variation, terminations and transition


Week 6

Small Business Restructuring 2021


Week 7
Liquidation I – The liquidation process and its consequences: provisional liquidation, introduction to types, statutory demands


Week 8
Liquidation II – The liquidation process and its consequences: powers and duties, consequences and effects


Week 9
Liquidation III – Property available for distribution in liquidations: antecedent transactions, , Insolvent Trading


Week 10
Liquidation IV – Liquidation administration, distribution and de-registration: role of liquidator, examinations, division of assets, de-registrations, reinstatements


Week 11
Small Business - Simplifed Liquidation 2021  

Week 12
Australian Cross Border Insolvency Law

Assessment Task	Task Type (Group or Individual)	Due	Weighting	Length	Redeemable?	Course Learning Outcome
Online Quiz	Individual	Friday Week 3	10	10 questions	N	1,2
Online Quiz	Individual	Friday Week 6	10	10 questions	N	1,2,
Online Quiz	Individual	Friday Week 9	10	10 questions	N	1,2
Online Quiz	Individual	Friday Week 12	10	10 questions	N	1,2
Research Essay	Individual	Monday 7th June  2pm	60	4,000 words	N	1,2,3,4,5,6

Online Quiz
There will be four on line quizzes to be completed at the end of 3 weeks of teaching (Week 3, 6, 9 and 12), and each quiz will count for 10% (overall 40% of the course's entire assessment). This can be completed online through MyUni, and will relate to the material covered in each three weeks (Weeks 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) . There will be 10 questions in each quiz. Students may not attempt multiple times. As this is an entirely on-line course it is hoped that students will stay up-to-date with the material.  

Essay
Each student will be asked to write a research essay from a list of topics that will be posted in week 1. The research essay will be submitted using Turnitin. It is due on Monday 7th June at 2pm. The research essay will be marked according to the student's ability to source, collate and analyse relevant primary and secondary material, their demonstrated ability to understand the relevant law and their critical discussion. Marks will be awarded for lucidity of expression, logical flow and structure of discussion and argument and the strictest compliance with AGLC and good English expression. Students should aim for publishable standard. The written research essay will be 4000 words in length and counts for 60% of the entire course's assessment.

There is no exam in this course as all students will have been examined in the Corporate Law on corporate insolvency.

Research Essays will be submitted electronically. MyUni will outline the steps to submit using turnitin.

Penalties:

1. Late Submission:
5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that submission is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An assignment that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc.  

2. Word Length:
Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word lengthis 4000 words) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (e.g. with a word limit of 1,250, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 1,251 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 1,351 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but
excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as CEQ surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/ ) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at least once every 2 years. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

SELT was conducted on Corporate Insolvency Law when it was last offered in Summer 2014. Students found the seminars provided good explanation of the law. No suggestions for improvement were provided however 2014 saw the introduction of an on-line quiz and the removal of a final exam added to the focus of an enjoyable course providing both broad and in-depth knowledge. Both changes were well received.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

Practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

For more information please check out the Writing Centre website at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/  

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health
issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school.
It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program. Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences
and other activities.

Our FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/LexSalusALS/ , our website at https://law.adelaide.edu.au/lex-salus/
and regular allstudent emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness. Our Lex Salus Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN5jQ44r8SmVn0txjaNcj3w  also includes videos
on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality.

Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service
recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea
with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

 
Counselling Service

The University Counselling Service provides a free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Counselling service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life. More information is available at https://www.adelaide.edu.au/counselling_centre/. 

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.