Unit information: Company Law in 2020/21

Unit name	Company Law
Unit code	LAWD20037
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Dias-Abey
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	University of Bristol Law School
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will cover: function of companies and company law; comparison of companies, partnerships and sole traders; legal personality and limited liability; classification into public and private companies; articles of association; management of companies; directors' duties; transactions involving directors; issue of shares; payment for shares; dividends; rights of shareholders; derivative claims; just and equitable winding up and unfair prejudice orders

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:

• Consider the historical origins of company law and appreciate the relevance of those origins to understanding modern company law;
• Discuss the key concepts of company law;
• Analyse the nature of problems which arise when company law is applied to smaller private or closely held companies;
• Critically consider some of the controversies surrounding company law;
• Apply independent critical skills in answering essay and problem questions.

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through a variety of asynchronous and synchronous activities

Assessment Information

1 x summative assessment: Timed Open Book Assessment with a specified word count (100%)

The assessment will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.

Reading and References

Full reading lists are provided in respect of each tutorial. The recommended course textbook is Hannigan's Company Law (5th edition, OUP). This is supplemented by a range of cases and academic articles.