Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law (LAW408H1S)

Insolvency law is a core structural part of business law, and it materially impacts many other areas of law. A key goal of the course is to provide a strong conceptual understanding of insolvency law that is of broad general use.

This course will involve a study of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, and the various insolvency regimes these statutes provide for, including corporate bankruptcies, receiverships, and proposals under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, restructuring and liquidating Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings, and cross-border insolvencies. The first half of the course will focus on business and consumer bankruptcies under the BIA and receiverships of insolvent businesses, while the second half will focus on business reorganizations including arrangements under the CCAA and proposals under the BIA.

Considerable emphasis will be placed on (i) understanding the legal, economic and social policies that underlie these regimes, (ii) situating bankruptcy law within the broader context of commercial transactions, and (iii) identifying some of the impacts of insolvency laws on other practice areas.