This module is available to M1N1 LLB Law with Business students only.
The module is designed to introduce students to the business contexts in which law operates and how law shapes and is shaped by business. It will encourage students to think critically about the intersections of law and a series of key themes in the study of business. Topics will include law and corporate governance (e.g. shareholder v stakeholder theories), law and business strategy (e.g. outsourcing, intellectual property), law and industrial organisation (e.g. global value chains), law and competition (e.g. mergers & acquisitions), the intersection of standard setting and regulation with law-making (e.g. the growing role of private standards and their role as 'soft' law), and law and sustainable development. In addition to exploring these thematic issues, the module will equip students with resources and skills for thinking critically about the operation, structures and functions of legal systems across countries with differing levels of economic development, and different historical trajectories of legal development and how both shape and are shaped by the world of business.
We will use a series of case studies to bring these themes to life, including focusing on particular business sectors, commodity chains, countries, and corporate governance scandals. Each will be used to illustrate the intersections between business and legal systems.
Students will learn to make oral and written presentations, and how to manage teamwork, as well as to work independently.