General Course Descriptions for Terms: Bankruptcy
736 - Secured Transactions
This course studies the U.S. rules that govern the use of personal property and real estate fixtures as collateral (that is, “security”) for the repayment of obligations such as loans and other extensions of credit. (Real estate law covers the use of “real property” such as land and buildings for security in connection with loans, and is not the topic of this course.) Secured Transactions is a vital course for any lawyer who wishes to understand the United States economy and financial system. The use of personal property collateral to secure repayment of obligations is an essential part of most lending and other credit transactions in the U.S. economy. It is unusual in recent decades for creditors of businesses to extend credit without some requirement that there is collateral to help assure repayment of financial obligations. (Credit extensions to consumers often do not require collateral, and the course explains those situations as well.) The course covers the primary source of personal property-secured transactions rules: Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (the “UCC”), which is a statute adopted (with some slight variations) by all states in the U.S. Article 9 sets forth the rules for establishing security interests, and the rules that, in some instances, allow secured creditors to seize a debtor’s property without resorting to a court for authorization. In addition to Article 9, the course reviews certain other provisions of the UCC and relevant rules in the bankruptcy laws and federal tax lien statute.