Course Description
The legal and regulatory environment of business, emphasizing why legal duties are placed on the business community and how managers should appropriately respond to them. Covers legal institutions, constitutional law, common law, and public law.
Athena Title
Legal Regulatory Environ Bus H
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in LEGL 2700, LEGL 2700E
Prerequisite
Permission of Honors
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Law can be viewed as a vast set of theories of liability. An individual or entity is subject to civil or criminal liability, or has a right to a civil remedy, only if there is a legal theory that, when applied to facts that can be proved in court, provides for the imposition of that liability or provides a remedy. The legal environment of business consists of the set of those theories applicable to engaging in business. As those theories change over time, the legal environment of business changes. The objective of this course must be more modest than preparing each student to engage in his or her career without resort to seeking the advice of counsel. Nevertheless, only with some familiarity with the substance of applicable legal rules can one determine that a particular factual pattern presents legal issues that warrant seeking the advice of legal counsel. This course (i) introduces students to legal principles pertinent to business, to allow them to recognize the existence of legal issues arising from business practice; (ii) provides knowledge to facilitate business decision making in matters involving legal issues that are customarily addressed without reference to legal counsel; (iii) provides knowledge of the framework, structure and content of the legal and regulatory environment of business to allow knowledgeable and effective interaction with legal and other regulatory professionals; and (iv) introduces pertinent ethical considerations.
Topical Outline
Topics Introduction and terminology Court systems and procedures Constitutional law Torts and strict liability Contracts and sales Agency Business forms Creditor-debtor relations and bankruptcy Antitrust Criminal law Discrimination Intellectual property Administrative law Ethics Other aspects of private law
Syllabus