Outline

Overview

The unit will be taught by Justice Ashley Black Supreme Court of New South Wales, Mr Imtiaz Ahmed Barrister and Mr Alexander Morris King and Wood Mallesons. The unit will involve both a conceptual analysis of fiduciary duties and associated remedies and a focus on the treatment of conflicts of interest in key areas of commercial activity and professional practice including partnerships and joint ventures, directors duties, legal and auditing practice and the financial services industry. Main topics include: The scope of fiduciary duties in Australian and UK law Fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest in partnerships joint ventures and other commercial relationships, Conflicts of interest affecting lawyers and auditors, Management of conflicts of interest in the financial services industry and Remedies for breach of fiduciary duty.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	LAWS6321
Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	Undergraduate knowledge of equitable principles or company law would be desirable
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Jason Harris, jason.harris@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Presentation	Presentation (10%) Class Presentation	10%	Ongoing	1,000 words (equivalent work)
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Short-Release Essay Synopsis (non-graded) Essay Synopsis	0%	Week 02 Due date: 27 Jan 2023 at 18:00 Closing date: 06 Feb 2023	300 words / 3 working days
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research Essay (90%) Written assessment	90%	Week 08 Due date: 10 Mar 2023 at 16:00 Closing date: 16 Mar 2023	7000 words / 6 weeks
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Class Presentation (10%): Students will be assessed on a class presentation of up to 10 minutes in length. Students will be invited to choose a topic for the presentation, which will typically address initial issues they have identified in the area of their proposed research essay. These thoughts will typically be preliminary, where the presentation is given on the last day of the intensive. Students will be encouraged to provide a Powerpoint or dot point summary of the presentation to the lecturer and all other students, although that is not essential. This approach has been successfully adopted in the last several years of this unit of study, and allows students to “road test” his or her thoughts and other students to have the benefit of exposure to the presenter’s thoughts.

Research Essay (90%): Students must submit a short synopsis (no more than 300 words) of their essay plan to Adj Prof Black by the end of the last class which means it is due by 6pm 27 January, with feedback on the synopsis to be provided within 1 week after the last class. The word limit is 7,000 words and does not include references. The essay will be due by 4pm 10 March 2023 (Sydney, Australia time).

In assessing the research essay, we will be looking for evidence that students have a working knowledge and understanding of the relevant statutory provisions, are able to identify issues, relevant law, apply the law to the issues; and draw reasoned and logical conclusions. In addition, students should demonstrate a broader knowledge, analysis and evaluation of at least some of the issues involved, rather than simply recognising, restating and applying the law.

The use of editors (including proof-readers) is permitted in the preparation of work submitted for assessment in this unit of study. Students must acknowledge any such assistance in accordance with Academic Honesty Procedures.

Approved Special Consideration applications may be granted an alternative task at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.

Both assessment tasks meet all learning objectives as described in the unit outline.

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.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Completely answers the question. Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Completely answers the question. Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. Generally well expressed and free from errors. Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. Contains no significant errors. Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. Contains some significant errors. Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. Offers a descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. Adequate expression. Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Does not answer the question. Contains significant or numerous errors. Few or no identifiable arguments. Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. Lack of research or analysis. Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per calendar day or part thereof. For example, a submission after 4pm but by 11.59pm on the due date will attract a 10% penalty. A submission after midnight of the due date for submission will attract a 20% penalty. A submission on the following day after midnight will attract a 30% penalty, and so on. Late penalties will be strictly applied subject to a grace period of 10 mins. The date and time of submission as recorded by Canvas is taken as the official and final record of a student’s submission.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Ongoing	Nature, scope, and content of fiduciary duties; Fiduciary duties in commercial relationships	Seminar (4 hr)
	Solicitors	Seminar (4 hr)
	Auditors; Directors	Seminar (7 hr)
	Credit rating agencies; Financial services	Seminar (7 hr)
	Remedies; Presentations and discussion	Seminar (4 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of classes to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.

For PG intensives only: For units offered in Intensive mode, participation in all scheduled sessions may be expected by a Unit Coordinator in order to satisfy the requirements of the unit.

Word count 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: bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include: body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Please refer to the Reading List posted on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate an understanding of the scope of fiduciary duties in Australian and UK law
LO2. demonstrate an understanding of fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest in partnerships and joint ventures
LO3. demonstrate an understanding of conflicts of interest affecting lawyers and auditors
LO4. demonstrate an understanding of management of conflicts of interest in the financial services industry
LO5. demonstrate an understanding of remedies for breach of fiduciary duty.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Additional information

Resources - Sydney Law Students

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS6321: Fiduciary Duties and Conflicts of Interest

Intensive February, 2023 [Block mode] - Castlereagh St, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect