LAW 7158 - Corporate Law: Selected Issues

Course Details

Course Code	LAW 7158
Course	Corporate Law: Selected Issues
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Intensive
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	LAW 7157 or its equivalent for Bus Law students and Non Award
Assessment	Assessment in a course of this kind would typically include one or more of the following: a research essay, a case commentary, and/or assessment of contributions to class discussion. The nature and mix of assessment tasks may vary from year to year

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Francesco de Zwart

Course Coordinator: Dr Beth Nosworthy
Ligertwood Building 309
t: 0883135543
e: beth.nosworthy@adelaide.edu.au

Course Coordinator: Dr Franc de Zwart
Ligertwood Building 213
t: 0883138304
e: francesco.dezwart@adelaide.edu.au

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On the successful completion of the course, a student will be able to:

Identify and understand the characteristics of a corporation when compared to other forms of business structure in Australia;
Understand relevant corporate law as contained in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the case law, as well as the ethical and governance responsibilities of corporate lawyers and corporations, and be able to apply the law and ethical principles to hypothetical fact scenarios using critical thinking and problem solving skills;
Communicate and critically anlyse the effect of the law on persons and corporations, both individually and within a small group scenario; and
Demonstrate high level research and analysis skills as applied to a corporate topic of their choosing.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1, 2, 3, 4
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1, 2, 3, 4
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	3, 4
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1, 2, 3, 4
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1, 2
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2, 3

Required Resources

Students are not required to purchase any particular texts. All required readings will be provided online via MyUni in advance of the sessions.

Recommended Resources

Useful Academic Texts:

de Zwart, F B, Enhancing Firm Sustainability Through Governance, The Relational Corporate Governance Approach, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA, 2015
du Plessis, J J, Hargovan, Bagaric, M and Harris, J, Principles of Contemporary Corporate Governance, 2nd ed, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 2014
Austin, RP & Ramsay IM, Ford's Principles of Corporations Law, 15th ed, LexisNexis, 2013
Boros E & Duns, J, Corporate Law, 2nd ed, OUP, 2009
Redmond P, Corporations and Financial Markets Law, 6th ed, Thomson, 2013
Baxt R, Fletcher K & Fridman S, Corporations and Associations: Cases and Materials, 10th ed, LexisNexis, 2008
Harris J, Hargovan A & Adams M, Australian Corporate Law, 3rd ed., LexisNexis, 2011
Austin RP, Ford H & Ramsay I, Company Directors: Principles of Law and Corporate Governance, LexisNexis/Butterworths, 2005
Australian Corporations Law: Principles and Practice, 3 vols (online), LexisNexis
Ciro T & Symes C, Corporations Law: In Principle, 9th ed, Thomson, 2013
Harris J, Company Law: Theories, Principles and Applications, LexisNexis, 2012
Quilter M, Company Law Perspectives, Thomson Reuters, 2012
Symes C & Duns J, Australian Insolvency Law, 3rd ed, LexisNexis, 2015

Useful On-line sites include:
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission [‘ASIC’] www.asic.com.au
The Australian Securities Exchange [‘ASX’] www.asx.com.au
Companies and Markets Advisory Committee [‘CAMAC’] http://www.camac.gov.au/camac/camac.nsf
Australian Legal Information Institute: http://www.austlii.edu.au/

Online Learning

MyUni will be used to post announcements, post additional lecture materials (including slides, and where available, audio recordings of lectures) and announce assignment tasks. It will also contain electronic copies of the Course Profile, Lecture and Topic Guides, and any required reading as it becomes available.

Students are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course.

Learning & Teaching Modes

The face-to-face teaching for this course is intensive, across four days within Semester 2. Teaching runs from 10am to 5pm on Friday and Saturday, with break from 1-2pm for lunch. The dates are 19-20 August and 16-17 September.

The first of the two intensive sessions will be divided into four topics, each of which will start with a lecture introducing the relevant topic, and then students will move to concentrate on in-depth consideration of questions, including problem-solving, provided in advance. Students are expected to read the cases and other materials and questions set prior to the session.

The second of the two intensive sessions will be devoted to the student presentations on topics selected from the material discussed in the first intensive session, and preparation for the research paper.

Attendance at all four days is compulsory, due to the reliance on the first session for content for the student presentations which occur during the second session, and access to staff for assistance with the research paper.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

For a 3-unit course, the workload requirement is 156 hours. For Corporate Law: Selected Issues, this will be structured as follows: 24
hours of face-to-face teaching, scheduled over four intensive teaching days, and 132 hours of personal study, split between 66 hours preparing for the in class presentation and accompanying paper, and 66 hours towards the research essay.

Learning Activities Summary

Learning Activities Summary
Day 1	Session 1	Institutional Shareholders: Positives and Negatives
	Session 2	Recent Issues in Directors Duties
Day 2	Session 3	Insolvent Trading under 588G
	Session 4	Corporate Governance Aims, Theories and Research
Day 3	Student Presentations
Day 4	Student Presentations
	Research Paper Q&A

It is expected that Sessions 1-4 may run over Day 1-2 and into Day 3. Student presentations will be scheduled for the second half of Day 3 and the first half of Day 4 with that in mind. The remainder of Day 4 will be available for Q&A with the staff in relation to the research paper, research methods and use of the library website for electronic legal research.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Redeemable	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Class Participation	No	Across Days 1-3	10%	2, 3
Topic Presentation	No	To be scheduled across Days 3-4	10%	1, 2, 3
Presentation Paper	No	At time of presentation	25%	1, 2
Research Paper	No	24 October, 2pm	55%	1, 2, 3, 4

Assessment Related Requirements

Each piece of assessment is compulsory. None of the assessment is redeemable.

Assessment Detail

1. Class Participation
10% - assessed across Days 1-3
Students are expected to participate during the lecture portion of the course, preparing beforehand by reading the provided materials and contributing to the discussion with other students and the staff.

2. Topic Presentation
10% - presentations to be scheduled on days 3-4
Students will select a topic of interest to them, either from the material presented during Days 1-2, or beyond the course content in consultation with the staff. They will prepare and present a 10-15 minute talk on the topic, extending the class beyond the discussions which have already taken place, and providing their perspective on the current issues within that topic and where they perceive it will be moving in the future. They will be prepared to respond to a short Q&A session with their fellow students and staff following their presentation.

3. Presentation Paper
25% - to be submitted at the time of presentation
Students will prepare a 1500 word paper to submit at the time of their presentation, summarising the content on which they will be presenting. The paper is to comply with the AGLC guidelines, and is subject to the usual penalties for exceeding the word count or late submission. Submission will be electronic via Turnitin on MyUni.

4. Research Paper
55% - Due 24 October, 14:00, via Turnitin on MyUni
Students will select a topic for a larger research paper of 4,000 words, to be submitted in week 12 of the semester. The topic will be selected in consultation with staff on Day 4 of the course. Students will analyse their chosen research topic, isolate current issues of particular relevance to the topic, research it in depth, and succinctly restate their findings before reaching conclusions as to the current state and future issues to be dealt with by those practicing within this field. Submission will be electronic, via Turnitin on MyUni.

Submission

Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
To gain a pass, students must submit each part of the assessment.
All assignments must be submitted via ‘Turnitin’ on MyUni. Details for electronic submission through Turnitin will be provided with the assignment instructions. By submitting your assignment you are agreeing to the following: (a) I declare that all material in this assessment is my own work except where there is clear acknowledgement and reference to the work of others. I have read the Policy on Cheating in Examinations and Related Forms of Assessment. I have also read the University's Plagiarism Policy; (b) I give permission for my assessment work to be reproduced and submitted to other academic staff for the purposes of assessment and to be copied, submitted and retained in a form suitable for electronic checking of plagiarism.
Late Submission: Where an assignment is submitted after the due date and without an extension, a penalty of 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is one hour late (for a final grade of 58%), 10% if it is 25 hours late etc.
Word length: Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length or page limit) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (i.e. with a word limit of 3,000, an essay graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3001 words long, for a final grade of 58%, 10% if it is 3101 words long, etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information, separate bibliography or list of sources. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count. If the word limit is seriously misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.
Extensions: Requests for extensions must be made via email to the course coordinator. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.
When undertaking an assessment task, students are to be assessed according to whether they are law or non-law graduates respectively. Where the nature of the task involves the exercise of skills that law graduates can be expected to have practised or refined over a longer period or to a greater degree than their non-law counterparts, an assessor may legitimately expect a higher standard of performance from the law graduates in the course.
Style of written work: All written work in the Law School is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
Turnaround time: The presentation paper will be returned to students within 3 weeks of the submission date. Written, individual feedback will be provided from which students can learn in preparation for the research paper. The research paper will be returned to students within 4 weeks of the submission date with written, individual feedback. Students will be notified by email when assignments are ready for collection.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

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 GOS 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 the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. 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.

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 was founded in 2013 by Adelaide Law School Wellbeing officers Ms Corinne Walding, Ms Kellie Toole and Dr Mark Giancaspro and . Lex Salus is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at raising law student awareness of the importance of mental, physical and nutritional health across all year levels of the degree, and of the various counselling, disability and equity services both within and outside the University that can provide help. Research shows that law students, both in Australia and in many jurisdictions around the world, experience the highest levels of stress, anxiety and depression out of any other discipline. Many do not get enough sleep, maintain a healthy diet or achieve a realistic work/life balance. Making matters worse, they are unwilling or afraid to speak up for fear of feeling 'weak' or because of the negative stigma that attaches to seeking help. Lex Salus is dedicated to tackling these problems head-on.

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/.

This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating

Plagiarism is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the Adelaide Law School Enrolment Guide, and should note in particular the sections relating to plagiarism, grievance procedures and academic conduct within the Law School and the University.

Plagiarism is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Please be aware that “academic dishonesty” (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to refuse to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.

Academic honesty 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.

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator