Securities Law in the Adversarial Setting (LAW415H1S)

This course is designed to introduce students to all contentious facets of securities law practice including hostile take-over bids, insider trading, market manipulation, the regulation of investment dealers and other market participants and disputes related to the governance of public companies. The course will be of interest to students interested in pursuing a career in corporate/securities law or investment banking and those who are considering a corporate commercial or securities litigation practice. The course will be practical as well as theoretical in focus. The classes will touch upon many contexts in which trading in securities and transactions involving public entities can come under the scrutiny of regulatory authorities (in Canada and in the United States) and/or result in civil liability to investors and other stakeholders. The reading materials largely will comprise recent case law. A component of the course will involve guest lecturers such as senior staff of securities regulatory authorities and corporate governance experts. The course will be structured in a weekly, two hour seminar format to facilitate active discussion among the instructors and students.