Law Summer School (Civil and Corporate Law) - Detailed Outline (Online)

This page provides a detailed outline of the online Law Summer School – Part 2 (Civil, Corporate and Tort Law), a four-day course for students aged 15-18 who are interested in law, commercial disputes, business regulation, or future study in the subject. The programme below shows how students move from the foundations of civil law and contract through corporate finance, insolvency, tort, defamation, and civil advocacy.

The course is designed to give students a serious but accessible introduction to legal reasoning in civil and commercial contexts. Rather than focusing on exam technique, it emphasises discussion, analysis, argument, negotiation, and the practical application of legal principles. Students work through real and hypothetical cases, consider how legal rules operate in business and everyday life, and explore questions of responsibility, risk, reputation, fairness, and compensation.

Teaching takes place through live online seminars, structured discussion, problem-solving exercises, negotiation tasks, and advocacy work. Across the course, students develop skills in legal analysis, commercial awareness, statutory and case-law interpretation, persuasive argument, teamwork, and clear communication.

Prefer to view and download the PDF version of the Law Summer School – Part 2 outline? You can do so here.

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Day One – Civil Law, Contract, and Negotiation
Day Two – Commercial Law, Corporate Finance, and Insolvency
Day Three – Tort Law, Negligence, and Defamation
Day Four – Civil Advocacy and the Mock County Court

Across the course, students explore contract formation, negotiation, corporate finance, insolvency, corporate responsibility, negligence, duty of care, defamation, and civil advocacy. By the end of the course, they should have a clearer understanding of how civil and commercial lawyers analyse problems, advise clients, manage risk, and present arguments in a legal setting.

Please note that for some groups, sessions may run in a different order.

10.00 – 12.30 Introduction to Civil Law and Contract Law – What Makes an Agreement Binding?

The course begins with the world of civil law: the area of law concerned with disputes, responsibilities, and legal obligations between individuals, businesses, and organisations. Students are introduced to the distinction between civil and criminal law, including the different purposes of each system and the lower standard of proof used in civil cases.

The morning then focuses on contract law. Students explore what makes an agreement legally enforceable, looking at the core principles of offer and acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, capacity, and legality. They consider why not every promise becomes a contract, and why apparently informal agreements can sometimes have serious legal consequences.

Through examples and problem questions, students apply these principles to realistic scenarios. They examine how contracts are formed, where negotiations can break down, and how lawyers identify weaknesses in an agreement before a dispute arises.

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

1.30 – 3.30 Contract Law in Practice – Future Challenges and Negotiation

In the afternoon, students consider how contract law responds to modern commercial life. Digital agreements, online purchases, email negotiations, and changing business practices all raise questions about whether traditional contract principles are still fit for purpose.

Students discuss how the law deals with situations where contracts become difficult or impossible to perform, including ideas such as frustration, impossibility, and force majeure. This allows them to connect legal doctrine to real-world problems, from disrupted events to changing economic circumstances.

The day ends with a contract negotiation exercise. Working in teams, students take on client roles and try to negotiate a workable commercial agreement. This gives them a practical introduction to one of the key skills of civil and commercial lawyers: understanding the law, identifying risks, protecting a client’s interests, and finding a solution both sides can accept.

10.00 – 12.30 Corporate Law and Finance – How Do Businesses Manage Risk?

Day Two introduces students to commercial law: the area of law concerned with business, finance, companies, and commercial risk. Students consider how the law supports business activity while also trying to protect shareholders, creditors, employees, and the wider public.

The morning focuses on corporate finance. Students explore the idea of a company as a separate legal person, and consider why limited liability is so important for business growth. They examine the different ways companies can raise money, including equity finance and debt finance, and ask what risks are taken by founders, investors, lenders, and creditors.

The session then looks at how businesses and lenders try to manage those risks. Students are introduced to ideas such as security, charges, and retention of title clauses, considering how legal rights over property can affect who gets paid if a company runs into financial difficulty.

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

1.30 – 3.30 Insolvency and Corporate Responsibility – What Happens When Companies Fail?

In the afternoon, students turn to insolvency. What happens when a company cannot pay its debts? Should the priority be rescuing the business, protecting employees, repaying creditors, or winding the company up as efficiently as possible?

Students examine the difference between administration and liquidation, and consider how assets are distributed when there is not enough money to pay everyone in full. Through a detailed problem question, they work through the order of priority between different creditors, applying legal rules to a realistic commercial scenario.

The session also introduces wider questions of corporate responsibility. Students consider what should happen when poor corporate decision-making causes serious harm, including the possibility of corporate manslaughter. This raises difficult questions about whether a company can be morally or legally blameworthy, how far directors should be held responsible, and whether financial penalties are enough when corporate failures have devastating consequences.

10.00 – 12.30 Tort Law and Negligence – When Does Harm Become a Legal Claim?

Day Three introduces students to tort law: the area of civil law concerned with legal wrongs, harm, and compensation. Unlike contract law, where duties are usually created by agreement, tort law deals with duties imposed by law itself.

The morning focuses on negligence, one of the most important areas of tort law. Students explore the key elements of a negligence claim: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and remoteness of damage. They consider when one person should be legally responsible for harm suffered by another, and why courts are sometimes cautious about extending liability too far.

Through case studies and problem questions, students examine how negligence works in practice. They consider questions such as whether harm was foreseeable, whether a defendant behaved reasonably, and whether the claimant’s loss was closely enough connected to the defendant’s conduct.

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

1.30 – 3.30 Duty to Rescue and Defamation – Responsibility, Reputation, and Free Speech

In the afternoon, students consider whether the law should ever require people to help others. English law is generally cautious about imposing liability for omissions, but some legal systems recognise a wider duty to rescue. Students debate whether bystanders should face legal consequences for failing to act, and what such a duty might mean in practice.

The session then turns to defamation, where the law tries to balance protection of reputation against freedom of expression. Students explore the distinction between libel and slander, the elements needed to prove a defamation claim, and key defences such as truth, honest opinion, privilege, and public interest.

This area is especially relevant in the age of social media, where comments, posts, images, and even emojis can cause reputational damage. Students consider how far the law should go in regulating speech, and whether current defamation law strikes the right balance between preventing harm and protecting open debate.

10.00 – 12.30 Civil Advocacy – Building and Presenting a Legal Argument

Day Four focuses on advocacy in civil law: how lawyers present a case clearly, persuasively, and methodically. Students begin by considering what advocacy means in a civil context, where disputes are often heard before a judge rather than a jury, and where the focus may be on liability, evidence, remedies, and compensation.

The morning introduces the core skills of civil advocacy. Students consider how to structure a legal argument, how to question witnesses, and how to use evidence in a way that supports a client’s case. They also explore the difference between examination-in-chief and cross-examination, looking at how lawyers build up their own witness’s account while testing the reliability of the other side’s evidence.

The session also looks at closing speeches, where advocates draw together the evidence and explain why the judge should decide in their client’s favour. Students practise identifying the strongest points in a case, anticipating weaknesses, and presenting arguments with clarity and precision.

12.30 – 1.30 Lunch

1.30 – 3.30 Case Strategy and Mock County Court Advocacy

In the afternoon, students put their advocacy skills into practice. Working with case papers, they analyse the arguments on both sides, identify key points of evidence, and prepare their approach to questioning and submissions.

Students then take part in a simulated Mock County Court exercise. Taking on the role of lawyers, they question witnesses, present legal arguments, and try to persuade the judge. Although a full mock trial is not possible online, the exercise gives students a practical insight into how civil advocacy works and how lawyers adapt their strategy under pressure.

The course concludes by drawing together the skills developed across the week: legal analysis, problem-solving, negotiation, commercial awareness, and persuasive argument. Students leave with a clearer sense of how civil and commercial lawyers think, advise, and present a case.

This outline provides a detailed view of the themes, ideas, and legal problems explored during the online Law Summer School – Part 2. The programme is designed to introduce students to key areas of civil, corporate, and tort law, combining case analysis, discussion, negotiation, problem-solving, and advocacy exercises to show how lawyers interpret rules, manage risk, advise clients, and construct persuasive arguments.

You can also return to the main online Law Summer School page for full details about the course and how to apply.