LAW 3526 - Corporate Insolvency Law

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2016

This course will provide an introduction to the theory, policy and key principles of corporate insolvency law. The course will focus on the key corporate insolvency procedures of liquidation, administration, receivership as well as informal business rescue, and comparative developments in major jurisdictions. The course will also examine the role of government, regulators, the insolvency profession and other `stakeholders in corporate insolvency law, including the duties and conduct of directors in relation to businesses in financial difficulty. Cross-border insolvency issues will be examined.

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Course Details

Course Code	LAW 3526
Course	Corporate Insolvency Law
Coordinating Unit	Adelaide Law School
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate Law (LLB)
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	LAW 1501 & LAW 1506
Assumed Knowledge	LAW 2502 & LAW 2505
Restrictions	Available to LLB students only
Assessment	Likely to include a 40% research essay (2000 words) and 60% final exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Christopher Symes

Professor (Dr) Christopher Symes
Room 2.23
Phone 8313 4454

Email christopher.f.symes@adelaide.edu.au
(note this is a little different to most email addresses at Uni of Adelaide)

No other staff teach this course

Course Timetable

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

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

The course will be taught by one two hour lecture commencing on Thursday 3rd March 11.10 am - 1pm

Seminars will commence on Wednesday 9th March, 2.10 - 3pm

Course Learning Outcomes

Corporate Insolvency Law will cover the following specific learning objectives -

Knowledge

To examine and develop an understanding of:

1. The informal and formal insolvency procedures available to corporate Australia

2. How corporations are placed into receivership and administered

3. How corporations are placed into voluntary administration and administered

4. How corporations are placed into liquidation and administered

5. Directors duties with regard to insolvent trading

6. The legal principles governing the cross border insolvency

Intellectual and Social Capabilities

To develop:

7. The cognitive skills to analyse, evaluate and synthesise information about corporations, corporate officers, shareholders and creditors so as to identify and resolve legal and business related insolvency issues

8. An awareness and appreciation of the political, socio-economic and technical context of Corporate Insolvency Law and the development of Corporate Insolvency Law in response to political, socio-economic and technical change

9. Critical thinking about Corporate Insolvency Law

10. The ability to resolve basic problems in Corporate Insolvency Law using the knowledge and skills developed in this course

11. The ability to construct logical and compelling Corporate Insolvency Law discourse

12. The ability to write clearly and concisely about Corporate Insolvency Law and its application to basic Corporate Insolvency Law problems

13. The ability to intelligently discuss and debate Corporate Insolvency Law and its application to basic Corporate Insolvency Law problems

14. The ability to learn about Corporate Insolvency Law both independently and cooperatively in a professional environment

15. The ability to identify and effectively use Corporate Insolvency Law resources

16. The ability to contribute to the ethical development and application of Corporate Insolvency Law

Attitudes and Values

To develop:

17. The capacity to be informed, responsible and critically discriminating in relation to insolvent corporations, their corporate officers, their external administrators and creditors and their relationship with the community

18. A commitment to engendering lawful, ethical and socially reasonable corporate behaviour

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)	1-6,
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	7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17
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	8
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	8, 10, 11,12, 13, 15
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	16, 17, 18
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	9, 11, 13

Learning Resources

Required Resources

The textbook used is Symes & Duns, Australian Insolvency Law (3rd ed, 2015) 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.

Recommended Resources

Murray & Harris, Keay's Insolvency Personal and Corporate Law 8th edition 2013

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

Online Learning

This course will use MyUni for announcements, display of Powerpoint slides, lecture outlines and any additional case and other material required to be read for seminars. This course will also require you to use MyUni for some assessment, including submission of essays, case comments and Online Quizzes.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

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 and Duns, or as otherwise indicated by the lecturer. The lecturer may provide outlines, slides or additional material.

Seminars will concentrate on in-depth consideration of questions, including problem-solving, provided in advance of the seminar. 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 attend them 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.

Online activities - Each student will be required to undertake and submit on MyUni one case comment and one essay. Each student will be required to complete a quiz online during the course. See under 'Assessment'.

Workload

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

Contact time: attend the weekly two hour lecture and one hour seminar. This amounts to 36 hours of formal class contact time.

Preparation Time: In addition to attending formal classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments.

Learning Activities Summary

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

Liquidation I – provisional liquidation, introduction to types

Week 7

Liquidation II – statutory demands, powers and duties, effect

Week 8

Liquidation III – antecedent transactions, division of assets

Week 9

Liquidation IV – examinations, de-registrations, reinstatements

Week 10

Insolvent Trading

Week 11

Australian Cross Border Insolvency Law

Revision

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 Item	% of final mark	Due Date
Online Quiz	20	01 April 2016
Case Comment	20	29th April 2016
Research Essay	60	24th June 2016

Assessment Detail

Online Quiz
There will be a quiz to be completed by Friday, 1st April, counting for 20%. This can be completed online through MyUni, and will relate to the work in Weeks 1-4. There will be 40 questions in the quiz. Students may attempt multiple times.

Case Comment
Each student will be asked to write a case comment on a recent voluntary administration case. There will be a guide available on MyUni that assists in the choice and preparation of the Comment. The comment will be submitted using Turnitin.It is due on Friday 29th April at 2pm. The Case comment counts for 20%.

Research Essay
Details will be handed out in Friday 15th April, and posted on MyUni. It will be submitted using Turnitin. It is due on Friday 24th June at 2pm.

The essay will be marked according to the student's ability to source, collate and analyse relevant secondary material, their demonstrated ability to understand the relevant law and their critcal discussion. Marks will be awarded for lucidity of expression, logical flow and structure of discussion and argument and compliance with AGLC and good English expression. The essay counts for 60%.

Submission

Essays and Case Comments 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. Hard copy submissions made after 5.00pm on a Friday will be assumed to have been submitted on the next business day and will be penalised accordingly.

2. Word Length:
Assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length ) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks possible per 100 words or part thereof (ie 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.

3. Failure to lodge a hard copy with a Turnitin receipt will mean that your assignment has not been validly submitted and a special penalty
of 5% may be applied.

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 .

Student Feedback

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 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.
Student Support
The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the 成人大片.

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

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. 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 /counselling_centre/.
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Further information regarding the Law School Policies and Procedures in relation to Supplementary Assessment, Extensions, and Remarks etc can be found at:

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.
Fraud Awareness

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鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.

The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

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

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