Class Assignment 1 (20%) and Class Assignment 2 (20%):

Each student will be required to submit at least two written submissions on class problems selected by him or her, during the semester (Class Assignments). Class Assignments will be graded out of 20% each, and these marks will count towards the final result. You may choose to write a third Class Assignment, in which case you will have the benefit of the best two of the three marks. You must select your two Class Assignments from the hypothetical problems to be considered at weekly classes (listed in the Reading Guide which will be available on Canvas, in the "Modules" page). You may make your selection of a topic or change your topic by email to Dr Austin. You must do so in time to submit Class Assignments on two class hypothetical problems by the end of the unit. These arrangements are subject to the qualification that if there is too heavy a bunching up of selections for one class and not enough for another class, you may be encouraged to reconsider your choices. 

The word limit for the Class Assignments is 1400 words which is about 5 double-spaced A4 pages in Times New Roman 12. You are expected to analyse the issues raised by the hypothetical problem under discussion succinctly, with a clear sense of relevance. Confine your exposition of the law to legal principles raised by the facts. It is unnecessary to set out legislative or regulatory provisions in full, though you must cite the basis for each proposition you assert - by precisely referring, say, to a section or subsection number, or a numbered paragraph of a Regulatory Guide or Guidance Note, or a numbered paragraph in the judgment of a Court or the reasons of the Panel. When a decided case is relevant to your answer, it is usually unnecessary to set out the facts of the case, but only the legal proposition you extract from it, or a factual point of distinction from the problem at hand.

Students will be on-call for the relevant class for their assignment. Although no marks are separately allocated to the oral defence of a Class Assignment at the relevant class, students who perform well in class tend to obtain good grades and students who do not attend on the nights when their Class Assignments are discussed lose the opportunity to have ambiguities resolved in their favour.

You should send your Class Assignment attached to an email addressed to the lecturer conducting the relevant class, by 4.00 pm on the Monday before the Wednesday class. Your email and the attached Class Assignment should also be copied by email to Dr Austin, as teaching team leader. A copy must also be submitted on the Canvas site. Your email to the lecturer and Dr Austin should confirm that you have lodged the Class Assignment on Canvas.

Because of the importance placed upon oral defence of your Class Assignments, if for any reason you are unable to lodge your Class Assignment by 4 pm on the afternoon of your relevant class, you will be encouraged to withdraw from that Class Assignment and select a later topic. A Class Assignment tendered after the class to which it relates will not be accepted, except where the delay satisfies the University’s criteria for special consideration, and there is no time left to select a later topic.

Due to the nature of the two class assignments, in which students are required to defend their submissions in class, anonymous marking is obviously not appropriate for those parts of the assessment.

Short Release Final Assignment (60%)

The assessment for the remaining 60% of the final result, after the grading of the Class Assignments (see above), will be an assignment (Final Assignment) made available online via the Canvas site. The assignment will involve giving written advice on any three of four hypothetical scenarios to be chosen by you.

The Final Assignment will be available from 8am on Friday 24 May and will be due by 8am on 27 May (Sydney Australia time). The maximum word length of the assignment will be 5000 words (not including formal footnotes). No bibliography is needed. The assignment must be uploaded to Canvas by the due date and time.   

Anonymous marking applies to the Final Assignment. A Capstone Essay is not offered in this unit. 

Both assessment tasks will satisfy Learning Outcome 1 (LO1) by requiring students to demonstrate specialised disciplinary expertise on topics necessary (though not necessarily sufficient) for M&A legal practice, by: (i) providing a coherent explanation of the law and regulatory guidance regarding corporate control transactions, with emphasis on the acquisition of shares by takeover bid under Chapter 6 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and restructuring by scheme of arrangement under that Act; (ii) debating and evaluating the legal and economic policies that underlie the system of regulation of corporate control transactions; (iii) discussing critiques of regulatory guidance on key issues, including relevant pronouncements by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Takeovers Panel. The task will satisfy Learning Outcome 2 (LO2) by requiring students to demonstrate an understanding of the research tools for further research on the themes discussed in the unit. The task will satisfy Learning Outcome 3 (LO3) by requiring students to demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving, and the development of inventive solutions, in the application of their specialised learning in a professional or academic context. The task will satisfy Learning Outcome 4 (LO4) by requiring students to use the legal analytical tools needed for effective inter-professional engagement with business and financial advisers in M&A transactions. The task will satisfy Learning Outcome 5 (LO5) by requiring students to demonstrate an understanding of the basis for developing sound standards of professional responsibility for lawyers in M&A practice. The task will satisfy Learning Outcome 6 (LO6) by requiring students to demonstrate an understanding of the criteria for evaluating the effects of corporate control transactions on economic growth and efficiency.
 

Word limit penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude all footnotes and any bibliography (if required). 

Use of editors and automated writing tools: In completing unsupervised assessments, students may use editors, proof-readers, and automated writing tools (including translation software, grammar checkers, reference generators and artificial intelligence), provided that all use is acknowledged and consistent with University policies and procedures including Academic Integrity Policy. Acknowledgment must be made in writing on the front of the work submitted for assessment, or in an appropriate footnote or other reference, and state the name of the person or software.

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate.

Assessment requirement to pass a unit of study

A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.