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Business Law

Syllabus

Course Essential Questions:

  • What is the purpose of law?
  • How do contracts legally work?
  • How do juries, attorneys and lawyers' function in the hearing process?
  • Which employment laws will affect my business?

Objectives:

  • Evaluate the legal implications of contract law, law of sales and consumer law.
  • Define breach of a contract and the remedies available for resolution.
  • Analyze the relationship between ethics and law.
  • Participate in mock trials and evaluate case studies to promote an understanding and appreciation of the law, court procedures, and judicial system.

UNIT 1: Basics of Law (Weeks 2-4)

Week 1: Welcome

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Explore the US Constitution and its effect on state and federal court systems.
  • Describe how a rule becomes a federal law.
  • Identify the relevance of law to business disciplines.

Week 2: Introduction to Dispute Resolution

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the relevance of law to the study of business as it pertains to the different methods of dispute resolution.
  • Explore negotiation as it is commonly employed in business.
  • Determine how alternative dispute resolution would be favorable over litigation to a business.
  • Describe a judge’s role in alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Week 3: Business Ethics and the Constitution

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Describe and discern ethical challenges for corporate cultures.
  • Explain the historical importance and basic structure of the US Constitution.
  • Explain how the Bill of Rights relates to business activities in the US.

Week 4: Criminal and Civil Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the two different court systems in the US and explain why some cases can be filed in either court system.
  • Evaluate reasons why crime is important to a business.
  • Decide if a case should be tried as criminal or civil.

UNIT 2: Contracts (Weeks 5-8)

Week 5: Tort Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Analyze the impact and consequences of selected tort violations on businesses.
  • Explain torts’ application to business.
  • Differentiate among and give examples of negligence, strict liability, and intentional torts.

Week 6: Contract Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Explain the nature and importance of contracts.
  • Describe the elements of a valid contract.
  • Distinguish between an offer, an invitation to negotiate, an acceptance, and a counteroffer.

Week 7: Sales Contracts and Consumer Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Recognize variations of sales contracts.
  • Explain what the UCC is and how it governs the sale of goods and sales contracts.
  • Predict elements of a sales dispute.
  • Report on your interview with a member of the law profession.

Week 8: Agency and Employment

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Understand which laws protect employees.
  • Explain how the law prevents discrimination.
  • Define employment at will and outline the exception to this law.

UNIT 3: Regulations, Antitrust and Intellectual Property Laws (Weeks 9-12)

Week 9: Intellectual Property Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the importance of protecting intellectual property.
  • Recognize ethical issues that arise under intellectual property law.
  • Discern the difference between the major forms of intellectual property.

Week 10: Government Regulations

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Define the role of administrative bodies and regulation in the governmental rulemaking process.
  • Associate the effect of government interventions on daily living.
  • Discern the process each agency has in lawmaking.

Week 11: Antitrust laws

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Recognize the scope of antitrust laws.
  • Explain what constitutes unfair business practices.
  • Interpret the three main antitrust laws in relation to unfair trade practices.

Week 12: Unfair Trade Practices

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Analyze laws pertaining to unfair trade practices and the agencies that examine them.
  • Examine the history of government regulation.
  • Summarize consumer rights on purchased items.

UNIT 4: International Law and our Future (Weeks 13-15)

Week 13: Changing Face of Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Develop alertness to the legal changes in business by observing and weighing facts that affect citizens directly or indirectly.
  • Investigate how the growth of the technology will foster more laws for commerce.
  • Relate environmental protection to current and future policies.

Week 14: Tomorrow's Laws Today

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the fundamentals of E-law and its impact on international trade.
  • Connect the regulation of technological advances to the economy.
  • Investigate cryptocurrency legislation.

Week 15: Your Future in Law

Weekly Learning Objectives:

  • Create a closing argument on any case you are interested in.
  • Report on your visit to a courthouse.
  • Take your “Bar” (aka Final) Exam.
  • Reflect on what you learned in this course.
  • Complete the VHS Learning Survey.