Bourne On Company Law

Retaining the popular and accessible style of previous editions, this updated textbook examines the areas of company law studied in an undergraduate course, helping students to grasp the complexities of this fast moving subject.

Company law is a growth area which also reaches into many other areas of law. New areas include auditor's negligence, investment law and the FSA and administration orders. Each is explored in this volume, but the aim is not to do them full justice. Rather, it is to provide a full analysis of specified areas of company law: the company and other business organizations; types of company; setting up the company; managing the company; reconstituting the company; supervision of company law; the social responsibilities of companies; and the debate of the Cadbury Report and the Greenbury Committee Report.

This is a complete guide to the legal framework in which companies operate. 'Company Law' follows the life of a company from start-up, financing, through director's duties and the issue of shares, to reconstruction and insolvency.

The second edition of Critical Company Law provides a framework in which to understand how the company functions in society and a thorough grounding in modern legal doctrine. It shows how modern company law is shaped by a multi-layered history of politics, ideology, economics and power. Through the lens of political economic theory the book shows how the company becomes the mechanism through which the state makes political choices about distributing societies’ wealth and through which it responds to economic crises. The current law reflects an economy marked by a disjuncture between the low profits of the productive economy and the high profits of the finance economy. Critical Company Law examines areas of company law to show how they reflect a fragile economy inexorably drawn to social and economic inequality and short-termism. These include: • The Doctrine of Separate Corporate Personality • Groups of Companies and Tort Liabilities • Company Formation and the Constitution • Directors’ Duties and Authority • Corporate Capacity • Shares and Shareholders • Raising and Maintaining Capital • Minority Protection In this uniquely hybrid book the legal topics are treated with detail and clarity, providing an engaging introduction to the key topics required for a student of company law.

An ideal introductory textbook, Bourne on Company Law offers a succinct overview of the fundamental areas covered in LLB and GDL courses. The text is clear and easy to follow, being presented in short, sub-headed sections for ease of navigation, and is thoroughly cross-referenced to highlight connections across topics. Written for both law and non-law students, this text offers straightforward explanations of all key cases, as well as chapter summaries and end of chapter questions to aid understanding. The book is also supported by a companion website offering self-test questions, a useful glossary and annotated web links.