The focus is on an owner’s liability for the debts of his or her business and looks closely at the 2009 case of Brittain v Haghighat in which a court had to decide whether or not a sole trader would lose the family home in order to pay a business debt. The course also looks closely at how the common law regulates partnerships, the concept of joint and several liability between partners for the debts of the business, and the risks involved in entering into a traditional partnership without taking legal advice or having a written agreement in place.

 

Course access: this online legal English course will be available for 40 days after purchase.

 

At the end of this course in English for lawyers, you will know more about:

• the various options the owners of a new business have regarding its legal structure
• the legal obligations involved in setting up a sole trader business and a sole trader’s liability for business debts
• the process of invoicing customers and the importance of the cash flow of a business 
• a sole trader’s debtors and creditors, the possibility of bankruptcy, and the work of insolvency practitioners 
• the process of a trustee in bankruptcy realizing assets in order to pay debt and the risk of loss of a sole trader’s personal assets, including the family home 
• the existence of a legal mortgage and a mortgage loan 
• a homeowner’s equity in his or her property  
• the joint and several nature of liability for debt between partners in a general partnership 
• resolving disputes between partners in the absence of a written partnership agreement
• some key legal English dictionary terms that are essential to practising commercial law at an international level

 

Great practice for ALL THREE LEVELS of the TOLES exams in legal English.