Global Transactions: Key Issues and Contract Drafting (SC)

With a multi-part hypothetical business case as an anchor, this short course will provide an overview of the key issues which typically arise in cross-border business transactions, as well as the purpose, structure and content of different types of agreement used to document such transactions. We will focus on contract drafting, both in interactive class sessions and through the mark-up by students outside class of certain assigned transaction documents, with written feedback provided by the instructor. The contract drafting will be supplemented by in-class simulated negotiation sessions in which students will be assigned to a team representing one of the parties to the transaction. The objective of the course is to introduce students to the principal elements of cross-border business transactions (and how they may differ from the elements of a purely domestic transaction) as well as to the practical skills – such as contract drafting and negotiation – which they will need to become successful international transactional lawyers, whether in a law firm or a corporate legal department. We will look at these issues from a comparative perspective and consider the impact of different business and legal cultures on such transactions. We will also consider the role of the lawyer in identifying and resolving underlying commercial issues, and the allocation of responsibility for decision-making between business leaders and lawyers.