English Law for international lawyers
Attend this revised in-depth training course and gain invaluable skills in the following key areas of English law:
The common law in England and Wales
Negotiation and formation of a contract
Drafting and redrafting legal contracts under English law
Termination of a contract and remedies for breach of contact
Applicable law in international financial contracts
Other aspects of the law in England and Wales
International commercial agreements are often subject to English law. For many lawyers who are trained outside the United Kingdom, the legal concepts and requirements may be unfamiliar. This course allows lawyers to overcome any misunderstandings. It is available as private tuition and as in-company corporate training.
The schedule for this programme is regularly updated and aims to provide you with the principal elements of English law and in particular the main provisions of contract law. It is highly interactive with several practical case studies, seminars and workshops. Regular homework is set throughout the course for self-study.
You will learn:
The essential aspects of English law and the English legal system
To identify the key elements of a common law judgement
How a contract is drafted and the essential components of a contract
Remedies for breach of contract
Applicable law and international financial contracts
To enable you to understand how English law works in practice, you will take part in practical exercises and will analyse specific legal issues and contracts:
Pre-contractual documents: letters of intent and commitment
How to negotiate contracts with impact and effectiveness
Contents of the contract: express and implied terms
Drafting force majeure clauses
Drafting contract clauses
Construction of contract terms
The common law: nature and methodology
What is the ‘common law’?
The role of judge-made law or precedent
The authority of case-law
Consensual and non-consensual liabilities
Lesson 1: Analysing a common law case
Participants analyse a law report, considering the basis of the judgment and evaluate its significance for the future.
Equity and trusts
The equitable jurisdiction
Trusts: their use and structure
Legal and beneficial interests
Intention to create a trust
Identifying trust property
Duties of trustees
Formation of a contract (1)
Agreement
Offer
Acceptance
Misrepresentation
Termination of offer
Special cases
Form
General rule
Statutory exception
Formation of a contract (2)
Consideration
Function of the doctrine
Adequacy
Past consideration
From the promise
Value
Special cases
Lesson 2: Consideration case studies
Participants examine recent case law in relation to the doctrine of consideration.
Formation of a contract (3)
Contractual intention
Intention to create legal relations
Certainty
Completeness
Conditional agreements
Lesson 3: Formation of a contract
Participants consider the course of real-world negotiations and apply the common law approach to the formation of contract.
Formation of contract (4)
Pre-contractual documents and undertakings
Letters of intent/commitment/heads of agreement
Agreements to agree
Lock-out agreements
Letters of comfort
Corporate guarantees
Lesson 4: The usage of pre-contractual documents within the English Legal System
Participants study the wording and effect of precontractual documents.
The contents of the contract (1)
Classification of terms
Express terms
Common terms
Representations
Warranties
Undertakings
Conditions
Lesson 5: Common contractual provisions in financial documents Participants study the wording and structure of standard terms in banks’ loan and guarantee documentation.
The contents of the contract (2)
Contractual provision for remedies
Liquidated damages and penalties
Case studies: Latest case law on this subject
Force majeure clauses
Implied terms
Terms implied ‘in fact’
Terms implied in law
The contents of the contract (3)
Construction of contractual terms
Rules of interpretation
Exclusion & limitation clauses
Case study: Latest case law on this subject
Lesson 7: Interpretation of contractual terms Participants consider the court’s interpretation and application of contractual terms in contracts of insurance and shipbuilding.
Legislative limitations on standard terms
Parties to the contract
Privity of contract and its exceptions
The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
Variation of contractual terms
Consensual and non-consensual variations
Waivers
Promissory estoppel
Lesson 8: Frustration case studies Participants consider real-life scenarios and determine whether the doctrine of frustration applies.
Remedies
Legal and equitable remedies
Damages
Scope
Quantum
Injunctions
Specific performance
Case studies: set off and its exclusion
Applicable law and jurisdiction under English law
Conflicts of law in international transactions
Comparative practice
The common law approach
Relevant case studies
London School of Legal English runs corporate language training and personalised language courses for law firms and lawyers across London, online, the UK and throughout the world. It is the only fully independent language school doing this. To find out more, fill out the form on this page. i
