The Shuttleworth Institute of Continuing Education
For the Legal Profession
Understanding Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code:
What you need to know
August 19-20
A.selection of topics to be coveredFilings and perfections under Revised UCC Article 9 ..Creating a secured interest: seven steps to follow, including drafting security agreements Secured transactions: rules governing transition from Prior Article 9 of the UCC to the
new Revised Article 9 of the UCC ..Special rules applying to consumer secured transactions in Revised Article 9 of the UCC Intellectual property as collateral .Security interests in personal property
Target audience
This two-day seminar is intended for attorneys and paralegals, loan officers, vice
presidents, commercial loan officers, credit and collection managers, branch managers,
loan department personnel, accountants, and auditors.
Featuredspeaker
John 1. Kellogg (Partner), Knowles, Kellogg, and Granger
Mr. Kellogg has substantial experience in all aspects of business litigation emphasizing
creditors' rights, secured transactions, and real-estate matters; bankruptcy and business
reorganization; loan documentation and loan restructuring. Mr. Kellogg has represented
secured and unsecured creditors, bankruptcy trustees, creditor's committees, and
business debtors for the past 30 years.
Materials
Participants will receive a manual which has been compiled by the Institute specifically for
this seminar. The seminar will be recorded; registration constitutes consent to such
recording. Ifa registered participant cannot attend, he or she may order a set of the
digitally recorded CDs and the accompanying manual from this program.
Contact the Shuttleworth Institute for hotel/seminar information at (555) 456-6048 (please call hotel for
accommodations or directions only).
Cancellations: If you cancel six or more business days in advance, you will receive a full refund, less a $20 service
charge. If you cancel within five business days, you are not entitled to a cash refund.
11Read the advertisement again and decide whether these statements are true
or false.
1 The seminar will deal with the issues involved when changing over from the
old Article 9 to the new one.
2 The seminar is only suitable for senior legal personnel.
3 When they arrive at the seminar, the participants will be asked to give their
consent to being recorded.
4 A participant can get his money back if he cancels one day before the
seminar takes place.
S The seminar does not cover the writing of legal documents.
6 The speaker has experience representing both sides in a secured
transaction.
12Have you attended any continuing legal education seminars of the type
advertised? If so, what was the topic of the seminar? Do you think it is an
effective way to learn about legal matters?
ng e l
The seminar advertisement [Reading 3) was sent as an attachment to the following email.
13Read the email below and answer these questions.
1 Who sent it and to whom?
2 Why does the writer think that the recipients should attend the seminar?
Dear All
Although I am aware that this arrives at rather short notice, I have attached a
flyer about an interesting seminar being held at the Shuttleworth Institute in
Boston nextThursday and Friday and would strongly advise that all of the
members of the secured transactions team attend this two-day event. The seminar
will be held by a highly respected expert on Revised Article 9. Considering the
fact that there are two young newcomers in the department and several important
cases dealing with secured transactions currently in the pipeline, I firmly believe
that we cannot afford to miss this seminar.
Naturally, it may be necessary for some of you to rearrange your schedules so that
you can fly to Boston nextWednesday and participate in the seminar which
commences on Thursday morning.
I sincerely hope that all of you welcome this opportunity to improve our knowledge
and thus our ability to serve our clients. I look forward to your response in this
matter.
Sincerely
Jennifer Sampson
Unit 13 Secured transactions
E
14The email was written by a senior partner to her subordinates. Discuss these
questions.
1 What is the level of formality of the email - is it friendly or respectful,
familiar or distanced, informal or formal?
2 What language features of the text contribute to create this impression?
3 When would it be appropriate for you to use this level of formality?
s: I
v Generally speaking, it is useful to distinguish between a formal style of
language and a neutral/informal style. Writers should be aware of
features of a text which playa role in establishing the level of formality
so that they can make conscious choices to ensure that the level is
appropriate to the situation.
15Complete this table using the more formal equivalents from the email.
16The email contains examples of adverb-verb collocations commonly used in
professional correspondence, as well as in more formal speaking situations.
Underline the three adverb-verb collocations.
17Match the verbs in the box with the adverbs (1-6) to make all possible
collocations.
advise
suggest
agree believe hope
support understand
object to recommend regret
1 deeply
2 firmly
3 fully
4 sincerely
5 strongly
6 wholeheartedly
ng.
18You receive Jennifer Sampson's email and would like to respond and tell her it
l~~~TIl will not be possible for you to attend the seminar, as you will be in court that
»p.3~~1 day. (Youare also aware that other members of the secured transaction team
have important appointments.) In your email, you should:
0 refer to her email to you;
0 state the reason you are writing;
0 express your agreement with the idea of attending a seminar on the topic;
0 explain why you cannot attend on that date;
0 suggest an alternative to attending the seminar in question;
0 offer to make arrangements for such an alternative.
Use at least two adverb-verb collocations in your email.
19Rewrite the email from Jennifer Sampson to make it less formal, so that it
SAMP ANSW~EER would be appropriate for a lawyer to send to a colleague with whom he or she
»P.300 has a friendly relationship. Do not change the content of the email. .
ning 1:
.
Ing
.I
One of the topics covered in the continuing education seminar advertised in the flyer on
page 180is that of creating a security interest. Youwill hear an excerpt from the seminar,
in which the speaker outlines seven steps in creating a security interest in the USA.
20Before you listen, try to put the steps involved in order.
Step .
Step .................
Draft the security agreement.
Identify the debtor.
Step ..........................
Step .........................
perfect the security il1tere~t by filing a financing statel11ent.
Confirl11 that ~ecured party has given value.
Step ...... Identify the collateral, either by a list of specific property
or by a categorical description.
Confirm that the debtor has rights in the collateral. Ask
for bills of sale, invoices, etc.
Step..... .
Step Authenticate the security agreement, either by signing or
by email.
21..::: Listen and check your answers.
Unit 13 Secured transactions E
22..;:: Listen again and answer these questions.
1 According to the speaker, why is it important to identify precisely the party
granting a security interest?
2 When would a security agreement describe property with the phrase now
owned or later acquired?
3 What is meant by authenticating a security agreement?
23How is a security interest created in your jurisdiction? What are the most
common problems or issues arising from a security interest?
..
"'"
... ........
Lawyersneed to inform themselves of recent developments and rulings in unsettled areas
of the law. Generally speaking, an unsettled area of the law is one in which the law is open
to interpretation, due to the fact that caselaw decisions are inconsistent with each other or
with legislation. Often such areas are new, growing and with little precedent.
Thetext on page185 dealswith an unsettled areaof the law in which two of the key
terms introduced in this unit, fixed charges and floating charges, play an important role.
24Read the first paragraph. What is the issue in question? Who is affected by
this issue?
25Read the whole text. It discusses the court rulings in two important cases and
explains their general significance. Complete the ruling(s) and a summary of its
significance (1-5) for each case using the sentences below (a-e).