Module: LAW4003-20 Corporate Law

Level: 4

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Mark Coombs

Module Tutor Contact Details: m.coombs@bathspa.ac.uk

Brief description and aims of module:

Corporate – or company – law is the law concerned with the formation, status, ownership and governance of companies. With over 4 million companies in the UK and over 620,000 new incorporations a year (Companies House, Official Statistics, Register of Activities 2017 to 2018), company law is at the beating heart of UK business.

Whilst knowledge of this area of law is invaluable to everyone regardless of their career and life ambitions, it would be of particular interest to those interested in company secretarial, in-house lawyer, director (executive or otherwise), consultancy, banking, finance or entrepreneurial careers.

In this module, you will be able to demonstrate the following graduate attributes:

▪ Will be able to understand and manage complexity, diversity and change;

▪ Will be creative: Able to innovate and to solve problems by working across disciplines as professional or artistic practitioners;

▪ Will be digitally literate: Able to work at the interface of creativity and technology.

Outline syllabus

This module introduces the legal concepts of ‘separate legal personality’, comparing it to other business forms, and ‘limited liability’. It considers the lifecycle of a UK company, from formation, day-to-day running and closure. It is part-technical (looking at the particulars of, say, directors’ duties), part-policy (e.g. the Corporate Governance Code) and part-theoretical (looking at, say, the ‘agency problem’).

For completeness, it also considers the law as it relates to sole traders and ordinary and limited liability partnerships.

It may also introduce the taxation of business organisations.

Teaching and learning activities

You will be taught by way of 2x 1-hour lecture and 1x 2-hour seminar each week. Lectures will introduce and explore substantive subjects as specified above. Seminars will include a variety of activities including class discussion, scenario analyses, role-play, written and research exercises and other formative activities

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Essay (2000 words)

• % Weighting: 50%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Memorandum (2000 words)

• % Weighting: 50%