Secured Transactions

Need funds fast? Call now! At this point in your life, you have probably seen more than one billboard announcing a lender s tantalizing loan scheme along these lines. Indeed, debt is a familiar concept for most of us who have financed our education with loans, have credit cards, and buy any manner of things on credit. You may have recently taken out a loan for a car or even a mortgage. But what makes a transaction secured ? In the process of acquiring debt, we may agree that our creditors may take our property ( collateral ) if we do not pay our debt. If you have agreed to such a condition, you may be entitled to compensation kidding but you have almost surely engaged in a secured transaction. This course will address a wide variety of commercial transactions, with a primary focus on Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), as well as the interplay between Article 9 and the bankruptcy laws, other state- and federally-created liens (both statutory and judicial) and other types of financing structures. We will explore, in depth, the life-cycle of a secured transaction, including its creation, perfection, and the priority of a security interest under Article 9. In short, this course is designed for you to learn the statutory scheme that regulates security interests in personal or business property. The legal rules are not a mystery; they are printed in statute throughout the 50 states and in the UCC. In addition, because the UCC is part of a comprehensive set of rules regarding particular transactions, it is important to understand how the provisions of the UCC work together. In that respect, this course is a foundational course and a bar-tested subject. Above all, in this course, you will develop the skills necessary to engage competently in complex statutory interpretation and application, providing you with a necessary foundation for further legal studies. Grades will be based on your class participation, and your performance on problem sets and a final examination.