CLD Curriculum
The CLD uses custom-designed written materials and workshops to expand knowledge on a range of commercial law issues and develop related practical skills, such as searching commercial registers, drafting or amending corporate documentation, reviewing contracts etc.
CLD participants experience a practical, problem-solving methodology. They learn commercial law by advising a group of fictional clients whose business activities develop (e.g. from sole traders into partnerships and then limited liability companies) and broaden to include new commercial problems and opportunities.
CLD workshops discuss commercial law issues which match the clients’ ongoing activities and needs. This not only makes workshops more interesting but also better reflects the realities of life in a law office or as an in-house lawyer, where different legal problems can arise simultaneously.
Workshops may focus on some or all of the legal areas and issues listed below:
Company Law
Conducting business as:
• Sole trader
• Partnerships (different types)
• Company (different types)
Incorporating a company (and pre-incorporation liability)
Drafting/amending a company’s
constitutional documents
Internal corporate regulations and
decision-making
Rules on representing companies
Company finance (inc. secured and
unsecured credit)
Corporate organs
Directors’ duties
Internal company disputes
Insolvency law
Contract Law
Exclusion clauses
Remedies
Indemnities
Third Party Rights
Vitiating Factors
Sale of goods agreements
Shareholders’ Agreements
Credit agreeements
Variations and novations
Waiver and estoppel
Agency and authority to represent
another in contractual relations
Intellectual Property Law
Copyright
Trade marks
Passing off
Breach of confidence
IP defences
IP remedies
Other Areas
Vicarious corporate liability for the actions/omissions of employees, sub-contractors etc.
Equitable remedies (constructive trusts, tracing etc.)
Corporate litigation and issue of law/jurisdiction (Brussels & Rome Regulations within EU law)
English law rules on jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments
Piercing the corporate veil in domestic and international disputes
Outcomes and assessment
Outcomes
Participants gain greater confidence, knowledge and skills regarding various aspects of English commercial law
Assessment
Participants write a client memorandum advising on one/more legal issues forming part of the CLD curriculum
Development
The CLD builds on the participants’ knowledge & skills from DELLS, to expand their competence in English law