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LEXACOM A Law Society authorized course provider for CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
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COMMON LAW CONSULTANCY OR COURSES IN-HOUSE FOR LAW FIRMS AND LEGAL DEPARTMENTS |
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1. LEGAL CONTENT AND LEVEL: Common Law concepts and terminology with emphasis on Contract Law, Contract Language and Civil Liability. The level is introductory and is suitable for Civil Code lawyers who have had no training in Common Law.
2. LANGUAGE LEVEL: Intermediate and above: the higher your level of English the more you will learn.
3. LENGTH OF SESSIONS: You choose: minimum of half a day.
4. LAW COURSES OR LANGUAGE COURSES? These are law courses approved by The Law Society. They also include a huge amount of legal terminology and language.
5. TIMING AND VENUE: Any time to suit you: early mornings, evenings and weekends are also possible: your offices or venue of your choice.
6. TUTOR: Solicitor with over 25 years’ experience in practice: also linguist and holder of language-teaching qualification.
7. STYLE AND FORMAT: Interactive discussion in small groups or
one-to-one: we provide notes but material can include forms of contract,
correspondence or other documentation provided by you. 8. GENERAL: You decide on length and number of sessions, venue and topics from our sample courses.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Many cases which come before the English High Court and Court of Appeal involving, for example, large corporate mergers and acquisitions are decided on a basic Common Law point such as the absence of "consideration" or whether "time is of the essence" in contractual disputes, or whether a remedy should be ordered under the rules of Equity.
EXAMPLES
The Claimant alleged he was entitled to enforce an agreement (oral but confirmed by letter) that gave him an option to acquire shares in a company. The Defendants contested his claim, saying that, if there was an agreement, it was not enforceable due to certain conditions. The Court had to decide a) whether an enforceable agreement (contract) existed b) whether the Common Law remedy of damages was sufficient or whether to make an order for "Specific Performance", a remedy under Equity to enforce a transfer of the shares. NOTE: Since April 1999 a civil action is now started by the "Claimant". The term "Plaintiff" is no longer correct. However, Defendants are still Defendants.
2. British and Commonwealth Holdings plc v Quadrex Holdings Inc
The case involved a contract or contracts for the sale of shares in a private company for £280m plus other consideration. There was uncertainty as to when the transaction had to be completed and one party (A) sought to fix a completion date by serving notice to make "time of the essence" under Common Law (and Equity), usually only applicable when the other party (B) is guilty of delay. The Court had to decide whether, in the circumstances of this case, that notice should be upheld, entitling A to treat the contract as rescinded.
NOTE: Although both of the above cases have a corporate background involving share transfers and company dealings, neither has anything to do with Company Law or the Companies Acts. The applicable law is the Law of Contract and the cases were decided according to the principles of Common Law and Equity.
If you would like us to send you specimen course programmes and topics fill
in your e-mail address here and click on "submit"
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