Total Hours

I.

Module I:  The Foundations of Business Law

1.5 hours

A.

Lesson 1 --  Law and the Businessperson

1.

Lesson 1 Overview:  This first lesson sets the tone for the series, providing a basic foundation of what business law is, its importance in business operations, the importance of a businessperson understanding the law, and the consequences of not knowing the law.

2.

Instructional Objectives

a.

Explain the meaning of Law and give examples of the law in terms of rules and social conduct.

b.

Describe the effect of law on business, with particular emphasis on the law's role in limiting and structuring transactions.

c.

Identify the ten portions of the law which are considered to comprise business law.

d.

Describe the importance of a business person understanding the law in terms of the law's removal of discretion in business dealings.

e.

Provide hypothetical business--oriented examples of the consequences of a business person not knowing the law.

B.

Lesson 2 - Law and The Legal System

1.

Lesson 2 Overview:  Virtually every society on earth has laws, rules set forth and enforced by someone in authority for the purpose of keeping order within the society.  Even in primitive societies which may not have written laws, the rules that govern the way people in that society interact or conduct their daily affairs are likely to be well known to everyone.  In our society, by contrast, things are quite different.  Our laws exist in writing.  This apparently modest distinction has profound and far reaching implications for the ways in which the law is used and interpreted.

Our legal system is extraordinarily complex.  So much so that we must often rely upon specialists--judges and attorneys--to interpret the law for us.  But our legal system has one important factor in common with that of the primitive society:  it is not imposed from without, but has evolved to reflect the values of society and to promote the general social welfare.  This single factor greatly affects our whole attitude toward the legal system and toward those who maintain and enforce that system.

2.

Instructional Objectives

a.

Identify and discuss the elements that are incorporated in the definition of law.

b.

Identify the six components which a legal system needs, from the perspective of the society it serves.

c.

List and discuss the purposes of a legal system.

d.

Identify and explain the eight elements (sources of law) which taken together compose the entire body of law in the American legal system.

e.

Describe and give examples of each of the four classifications of law in the American legal system:  federal v. state law, common v. statutory law, civil v. criminal law, and substantive v. procedural law.

f.

Explain the role and importance of the U.S. Constitution in the American legal system.

g.

Distinguish between the federal and the state court systems and identify the types of courts which make up each system.

h.

State the stages or steps through which a lawsuit passes, from when a person first visits their lawyer to when a final decision is made in court.

C.

Lesson 3 - Business Crimes and Business Torts

1.

Lesson 3 Overview:  Every society on earth has certain standards of conduct to which its citizens are expected to adhere--and about which laws are made.  Ours is no exception.

As the issues relating to business crimes and business torts are explored, will become evident that the law has much flexibility.  This doesn't mean that the lines of legality are fuzzy or uncertain; however it is true that laws change over time, usually as society's view of what is acceptable changes.  Further, each situation which prompts legal action is likely to be unique in some respects.  Thus, if the law as it's currently written does not seem capable of restoring some measure of fairness to a given situation, society may feel it's time to change or expand the law.  And as this occurs, the process of identifying and interpreting appropriate conduct grows ever more complicated.  Still, there are threads of consistency that run through the law, many of which have existed for centuries.  Unraveling some of the broader threads is the focus of this lesson.

2.

Instructional Objectives

a.

Distinguish between torts and crimes and provide an example of each.

b.

Discuss the nature of crime in the world of business and provide specific examples.

c.

Identify the two necessary components of criminal liability and give an example of each.

d.

Identify seven crimes which can occur in the business marketplace.

e.

Discuss the nature of torts in a business context and give three examples of conduct in a business setting which would give rise to tort liability.

f.

Define intentional tort and give business--related examples of actions that would give rise to intentional tort liability.

g.

Define what is meant by negligence in tort liability and give two business--related examples of actions that would give rise to liability based on negligence.

h.

Define strict liability in torts and give business--related examples of situations in which strict liability might apply.