Basic Primer on Contracts
- Course Description
- Learning Objectives
- Who should take this course
- Professional Training Certificate Elective Course For:
- Textbook
- Instructor
- Instructor Biography
Course Description
This class is an introduction to the study of contracts under the common law. The class will examine basic rules in contract law, with cases to illustrate these rules and show how they operate. The different parts of typical contracts will be examined to show why particular provisions are often included in contracts. We will look at what makes a contract valid or invalid, and what parties should include in a contract to achieve a desired result. In addition the following topics will be examined: -Confidentiality clauses, -Assignment and delegation, -Damages, -Promissory estoppel, -Representations and warranties, indemnities, -Various ways in which contracts can come to an end.
Learning Objectives
1. Basic rules in contract law.
2. Why particular provisions are often included in contracts.
3. What makes a contract valid or invalid.
2. Why particular provisions are often included in contracts.
3. What makes a contract valid or invalid.
Instructor Biography
Christopher Rathbone is a foreign associate at the full-service law firm, City-Yuwa Partners in Tokyo where he specializes in international transactions. He has taught classes and provided seminars on legal translation, legal writing and contracts for Japanese, Korean, Cambodian and US universities, as well as the Tokyo offices of many top US law firms. As a long term resident of Japan who is fluent in Japanese, Mr. Rathbone’s classes and seminars provide both practical information and cultural insights. In addition to legal writing and contracts, he frequently gives presentations on diverse topics including Plain English and the legal profession in Japan and the US. As a health advocate, he also writes articles and speaks on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the intersection of tobacco and human rights. Mr. Rathbone graduated with honors from the University of Saskatchewan and earned a J.D. from the College of Law of the University of Saskatchewan and an LL.M. from Hokkaido University as a Monbusho Scholar. He is admitted as an attorney in Massachusetts.