Governing Law Risks in International Business Transactions

Philip R. Wood is a world-renowned academic scholar, and former Head of the Global Intelligence Unit at Allen & Overy, where he was formerly a partner and Head of Banking. He has been Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, at Queen Mary, University of London, and was a Yorke Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Philip is an established lecturer and author of books in the field of cross-border financial law, known most notably for his nine-volume series The Law and Practice of International Finance (Sweet & Maxwell).

• Dedication Preface Acknowledgements 1: What this book is about 2: Role of law 3: Scope of contracts 4: Governing law and choice of courts 5: Predictability 6: Insulation of contract from foreign laws 7: Business orientation 8: Freedom of contract 9: Exclusion clauses 10: Insolvency law indicators and risks 11: Insolvency set-off 12: Security interests 13: Commercial trusts 14: Corporate law indicators and risks 15: Regulatory law indicators and risks 16: Courts, litigation, and arbitration 17: Non-legal indicators and risks 18: Comparison of jurisdictions of the world 19: Protecting a governing law 20: History and the future 21: Conclusion Sources and References Index

The value of a governing law can be enormous. English law underpins trillions of dollars of annual business activity. It is, according to Philip Wood, a national asset which requires effort and discipline to maintain and protect...Wood advocates the establishment of a body, the 'Institute of English Law', to protect and maintain the English legal system.