Law has different meanings as well as different functions. Philosophers have considered issues of justice and law for centuries, and several different approaches, or schools of legal thought, have emerged. In this chapter, we will look at those different meanings and approaches and will consider how social and political dynamics interact with the ideas that animate the various schools of legal thought. We will also look at typical sources of “positive law” in the United States and how some of those sources have priority over others, and we will set out some basic differences between the US legal system and other legal systems.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Law and Legal Systems
Chapter 2: Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Chapter 3: Courts and the Legal Process
Chapter 4: Constitutional Law and US Commerce
Chapter 5: Administrative Law
Chapter 6: Criminal Law
Chapter 7: Introduction to Tort Law
Chapter 8: Introduction to Sales and Leases
Chapter 9: Title and Risk of Loss
Chapter 10: Performance and Remedies
Chapter 11: Products Liability
Chapter 12: Bailments and the Storage, Shipment, and Leasing of Goods
Chapter 13: Nature and Form of Commercial Paper
Chapter 14: Negotiation of Commercial Paper
Chapter 15: Holder in Due Course and Defenses
Chapter 16: Liability and Discharge
Chapter 17: Legal Aspects of Banking
Chapter 18: Consumer Credit Transactions
Chapter 19: Secured Transactions and Suretyship
Chapter 20: Mortgages and Nonconsensual Liens
Chapter 21: Bankruptcy
Chapter 22: Introduction to Property: Personal Property and Fixtures
Chapter 23: Intellectual Property
Chapter 24: The Nature and Regulation of Real Estate and the Environment
Chapter 25: The Transfer of Real Estate by Sale
Chapter 26: Landlord and Tenant Law
Chapter 27: Estate Planning: Wills, Estates, and Trusts
Chapter 28: Insurance

This course will acquaint the student with some of the ancient Greek contributions to the Western philosophical and scientific tradition. We will examine a broad range of central philosophical themes concerning: nature, law, justice, knowledge, virtue, happiness, and death. There will be a strong emphasis on analyses of arguments found in the texts.

There are several hundred thousand Brownfield sites across the country. The large number of sites, combined with how a majority of these properties are located in urban and historically underserved communities, dictate that redevelopment of these sites stands to be a common theme in urban planning for the foreseeable future. Students form a grounded understanding of the Brownfield lifecycle: how and why they were created, their potential role in community revitalization, and the general processes governing their redevelopment. Using case studies and guest speakers from the public, private and non-profit sectors, students develop and hone skills to effectively address the problems posed by these inactive sites.

In this course students will learn how to: Demonstrate an understanding of law, its historical development, judicial process, and the role of law in a complex social system, with emphasis on the American legal system and its institutions; Demonstrate the ability to analyze fact patterns in accordance with the legal professional case analysis method; to apply appropriate vocabulary and substantive legal principles; and then to analyze, compare, and evaluate the logic, reasoning, and arguments of other students, in accordance with established legal principles; Demonstrate the ability to complete a group project with other students, by identifying the applicable legal issues in a case or proposed statute, debating those issues, and producing a live course presentation; Identify and describe the basic principles of major business law subjects, such as constitutional authority to regulate business; common law contracts; the Uniform Commercial Code; agency; business associations; real and personal property and business-related torts; And identify and describe approaches to business ethics, social responsibility, and justice, and, demonstrate the ability, when confronted with an ethical dilemma, to weigh the arguments for alternative courses of action, and logically and persuasively argue for a particular course of conduct.

Law, in its simplest form, is used to protect one party from another. For instance, laws protect customers from being exploited by companies. Laws protect companies from other companies. Laws even protect citizens and corporations from the government. However, law is neither perfect nor all encompassing. This course will introduce the student to the laws and ethical standards that managers must abide by in the course of conducting business. Laws and ethics almost always shape a company's decision-making process; a bank cannot charge any interest rate it wants to charge that rate must be appropriate. By the end of this course, the student will have a clear understanding of the legal and ethical environment in which businesses operate. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Identify sources of law in the United States; Describe the function and role of courts in the US legal system; Differentiate litigation from methods of alternative dispute resolution; List the elements of the major torts; List the essential elements of a valid contract; Describe how a contract can fail; Summarize the remedies available for breach of contract; Distinguish between real and personal property; Identify the various interests in real property and how they pass; Identify the requirements to hold various rights under intellectual property laws; Analyze the impact of the digital era on intellectual property rights; Distinguish between at-will employment and contractual employment; Identify laws that generally regulate the employer-employee relationship; Identify criminal acts related to the business world; Define white collar crime; Describe the various forms of business organization; Identify the major laws regulating business in the United States; Identify major ethical concerns in business today. (Business Administration 205)

Provides context and essential concepts across the entire range of legal issues with which managers and business executives must grapple. The text provides the vocabulary and legal acumen necessary for business people to talk in an educated way to their customers, employees, suppliers, government officials—and to their own lawyers.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Law and Legal Systems
Chapter 2: Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Chapter 3: Courts and the Legal Process
Chapter 4: Constitutional Law and US Commerce
Chapter 6: Criminal Law
Chapter 7: Introduction to Tort Law
Chapter 8: Introduction to Contract Law
Chapter 9: The Agreement
Chapter 10: Real Assent
Chapter 11: Consideration
Chapter 12: Legality
Chapter 13: Form and Meaning
Chapter 14: Third-Party Rights
Chapter 15: Discharge of Obligations
Chapter 16: Remedies
Chapter 17: Introduction to Sales and Leases
Chapter 18: Title and Risk of Loss
Chapter 19: Performance and Remedies
Chapter 20: Products Liability
Chapter 21: Bailments and the Storage, Shipment, and Leasing of Goods
Chapter 22: Nature and Form of Commercial Paper
Chapter 23: Negotiation of Commercial Paper
Chapter 24: Holder in Due Course and Defenses
Chapter 25: Liability and Discharge
Chapter 26: Legal Aspects of Banking
Chapter 27: Consumer Credit Transactions
Chapter 28: Secured Transactions and Suretyship
Chapter 29: Mortgages and Nonconsensual Liens
Chapter 30: Bankruptcy
Chapter 31: Introduction to Property: Personal Property and Fixtures
Chapter 32: Intellectual Property
Chapter 33: The Nature and Regulation of Real Estate and the Environment
Chapter 34: The Transfer of Real Estate by Sale
Chapter 35: Landlord and Tenant Law
Chapter 36: Estate Planning: Wills, Estates, and Trusts
Chapter 37: Insurance
Chapter 38: Relationships between Principal and Agent
Chapter 39: Liability of Principal and Agent; Termination of Agency
Chapter 40: Partnerships: General Characteristics and Formation
Chapter 41: Partnership Operation and Termination
Chapter 42: Hybrid Business Forms
Chapter 43: Corporation: General Characteristics and Formation
Chapter 44: Legal Aspects of Corporate Finance
Chapter 45: Corporate Powers and Management
Chapter 46: Securities Regulation
Chapter 47: Corporate Expansion, State and Federal Regulation of Foreign Corporations, and Corporate Dissolution
Chapter 48: Antitrust Law
Chapter 49: Unfair Trade Practices and the Federal Trade Commission
Chapter 50: Employment Law
Chapter 51: Labor-Management Relations
Chapter 52: International Law
Chapter 53: Contracts

Exploration of the evolving opinions and doctrines of the U.S. Supreme Court with particular emphasis on the civil liberties and rights of individuals and groups. Examines specific case law with relevance to contemporary political controversies, including post-September 11th detainees, the use of secret courts, same-sex marriage, immigration, and abortion.

This chapter covers the Civil Procedure topic of Pleading: The Plaintiff's Complaint. The chapter takes approximately four class periods to cover in detail. The student is exposed to cases, presented with questions that are designed to both guide class discussion and to help the student focus his reading of the materials, pleadings from cases, and the applicable Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Reviews available here: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/civil-procedure-pleading

The sixth edition, first published as an ebook, and this seventh edition carry forward the philosophy and structure of the earlier editions. This book is not a comprehensive treatise on the subject of civil procedure, yet it provides a mixture of expository text, cases, and self-testing questions in nearly all of the major areas of the subject.

Reviews available here: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/computer-aided-exercises-in-civil-procedure

This is the first in a series of Contracts casebooks. It was originally titled "Collaborative Teaching Materials for Contracts."

The first semester of law school is mostly about learning to speak a new legal language (but emphatically not “legalese”), to formulate and evaluate legal arguments, to become comfortable with the distinctive style of legal analysis. We could teach these skills using almost any legal topic. But we begin the first-year curriculum with subjects that pervade the entire field of law. Contract principles have a long history and they form a significant part of the way that lawyers think about many legal problems. As you will discover when you study insurance law, employment law, family law, and dozens of other practice areas, your knowledge of contract doctrine and theory will be invaluable.

Table of Contents
I. Introduction to the Legal Significance of Promise Making

1. What is a Promise?
2. Which Promises Are Enforced?
II. The Consideration Requirement and Alternatives

1. Consideration Doctrine
2. Bargain or Gift?
3. Adequacy Doctrine
4. Promissory Estoppel
5. The Material Benefit Rule
III. Contract Formation

1. Offer
2. Acceptance
3. Revocation of Offers
4. UCC Section 2-207
5. Frontiers of Contract Formation

Access also available here: https://www.cali.org/books/contract-doctrine-theory-practice-volume-1

This is Volume 2 in a three volume series written for Contracts Law. The first semester of law school is mostly about learning to speak a new legal language (but emphatically not "legalese"), to formulate and evaluate legal arguments, to become comfortable with the distinctive style of legal analysis. We could teach these skills using almost any legal topic. But we begin the first-year curriculum with subjects that pervade the entire field of law. Contract principles have a long history and they form a significant part of the way that lawyers think about many legal problems. As you will discover when you study insurance law, employment law, family law, and dozens of other practice areas, your knowledge of contract doctrine and theory will be invaluable.

Table of Contents
IV. Defining the Obligation to Perform

1. Excuse
2. Mistake
3. Substantial Performance
4. Exclusive Dealing Contracts
V. Regulating the Bargaining Process

1. Unconscionability
2. Modification
3. Rules Concerning Information
4. The Statute of Frauds

Access also available here: https://www.cali.org/books/contract-doctrine-theory-practice-volume-2

This is Volume 3 in a three volume series written for Contracts Law. Its former title is "Collaborative Teaching Materials for Contracts."

The first semester of law school is mostly about learning to speak a new legal language (but emphatically not “legalese”), to formulate and evaluate legal arguments, to become comfortable with the distinctive style of legal analysis. We could teach these skills using almost any legal topic. But we begin the first-year curriculum with subjects that pervade the entire field of law. Contract principles have a long history and they form a significant part of the way that lawyers think about many legal problems. As you will discover when you study insurance law, employment law, family law, and dozens of other practice areas, your knowledge of contract doctrine and theory will be invaluable.

Reviews available here: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/contract-doctrine-theory-practice-volume-3

This book provides an overview of the criminal justice system of the United States. It is intended to provide the introductory student a concise yet balanced introduction to the workings of the legal system as well as policing, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice. Six chapters, each divided into five sections, provide the reader a consistent, comfortable format as well as providing the instructor with a consistent framework for ease of instructional design.

Criminal Law uses a two-step process to augment learning, called the applied approach. First, after building a strong foundation from scratch, Criminal Law introduces you to crimes and defenses that have been broken down into separate components. It is so much easier to memorize and comprehend the subject matter when it is simplified this way. However, becoming proficient in the law takes more than just memorization. You must be trained to take the laws you have studied and apply them to various fact patterns. Most students are expected to do this automatically, but application must be seen, experienced, and practiced before it comes naturally. Thus the second step of the applied approach is reviewing examples of the application of law to facts after dissecting and analyzing each legal concept. Some of the examples come from cases, and some are purely fictional. All the examples are memorable, even quirky, so they will stick in your mind and be available when you need them the most (like during an exam). After a few chapters, you will notice that you no longer obsess over an explanation that doesn’t completely make sense the first time you read it—you will just skip to the example. The examples clarify the principles for you, lightening the workload significantly.

An introduction to the cross-cultural study of bio-medical ethics. Examines moral foundations of the science and practice of western bio-medicine through case studies of abortion, contraception, cloning, organ transplantation and other issues. Evaluates challenges that new medical technologies pose to the practice and availability of medical services around the globe, and to cross-cultural ideas of kinship and personhood. Discusses critiques of the bio-medical tradition from anthropological, feminist, legal, religious, and cross-cultural theorists.

This chapter's objective is to raise interesting tax ethics issues in practical contexts. There are 43 notes and questions to prompt and guide discussions, and primary source materials to inform the discussions (e.g., cases, IRC provisions, and Circular 230 excerpts). These Teaching Notes flesh out the notes and questions, summarize the cases, and provide additional information and suggestions for readings. Of course, the ultimate test for casebook materials lies in student interaction based on the materials, so I assigned the materials to my students, and, taking their reaction into account, I have made suggestions below as to materials to eliminate or emphasize in customizing for your own class.

Access also available here: https://www.cali.org/books/ethics-tax-lawyering-second-edition

Table of Contents
1. Introducing Legal Ethics for Tax Lawyers

1.1 Ethics for Lawyers
1.2 The Duty to the Tax System
1.3 Sharing the Profession with Non-Lawyers
2. Regulating Tax Lawyering

2.1 Regulating Tax Lawyering through the IRC
2.2 Regulating Tax Lawyering through Circular 230
2.3 Regulating Tax Lawyering through Malpractice Standards
3. Ethical Problems for Tax Lawyers

3.1 Tax Opinion and Tax Shelters
3.2 Mistakes
3.3 Working with IRS Lawyers and Other Employees

The Best Evidence Rule, contained in Article X of the Federal Rules of Evidence (Rules 1001-1008) and state counterparts, is a Rule that requires a party seeking to prove the contents of a writing, recording, or photograph to produce the original (or a duplicate) or account for its nonproduction. Through a series of cases and hypotheticals drawn from actual cases, this chapter gives readers a roadmap for how to address any Best Evidence Rule issue in practice.

Table of Contents
I. Historical Origins of the Best Evidence Rule
II. Article X: The Modern Best Evidence Rule

Access also available here: https://www.cali.org/books/evidence-best-evidence-rule

The anti-jury impeachment rule, contained in Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) and state counterparts, is a rule preventing the admission of jury testimony or statements in connection with an inquiry into the validity of the verdict, subject to certain exceptions. Through a series of cases and hypotheticals drawn from actual cases, this chapter gives readers a roadmap for how to address any jury impeachment issue in practice.

Reviews available here: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/evidence-jury-impeachment

What this tool can do for you: 1). Help you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code. 2). Collect, organize & archive the information you might need to support a fair use evaluation. 3). Provide you with a time-stamped, PDF document for your records [example], which could prove valuable, should you ever be asked by a copyright holder to provide your fair use evaluation and the data you used to support it. 4). Provide access to educational materials, external copyright resources, and contact information for copyright help at local & national levels.

This subject explores the legal history of the United States as a gendered system. It examines how women have shaped the meanings of American citizenship through pursuit of political rights such as suffrage, jury duty, and military service, how those political struggles have varied for across race, religion, and class, as well as how the legal system has shaped gender relations for both women and men through regulation of such issues as marriage, divorce, work, reproduction, and the family. The course readings will draw from primary and secondary materials in American history, as well as some court cases. However, the focus of the class is on the broader relationship between law and society, and no technical legal knowledge is required or assumed.

Mayer, Warner, Siedel and Lieberman's Government Regulation and the Legal Environment of Business is an up-to-date textbook that covers legal issues that students must understand in today’s highly regulated business environment. The text is organized to permit instructors to tailor the materials to their particular approach. The authors take special care to engage students by relating law to everyday events with their clear, concise and readable style.

After introductory chapters covering the legal environment of business, Government Regulation and the Legal Environment of Business provides students with context and essential legal concepts relating to contracts, consumer credit transactions, bankruptcy, intellectual property, securities regulation, regulation of real estate, antitrust, unfair trade practices, employment law and labor relations. The text provides the vocabulary and legal savvy they will need to talk in an educated way to customers, suppliers, employees, creditors, shareholders, government regulators and other stakeholders — and to their own lawyers.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Law and Legal Systems
Chapter 2: Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Chapter 3: Courts and the Legal Process
Chapter 4: Constitutional Law and US Commerce
Chapter 5: Administrative Law
Chapter 6: Criminal Law
Chapter 7: Introduction to Tort Law
Chapter 8: Contracts
Chapter 9: Consumer Credit Transactions
Chapter 10: Secured Transactions and Suretyship
Chapter 11: Mortgages and Nonconsensual Liens
Chapter 12: Bankruptcy
Chapter 13: Intellectual Property
Chapter 14: The Nature and Regulation of Real Estate and the Environment
Chapter 15: Securities Regulation
Chapter 16: Antitrust Law
Chapter 17: Unfair Trade Practices and the Federal Trade Commission
Chapter 18: Employment Law
Chapter 19: Labor-Management Relations
Chapter 20: International Law

In all civilized nations, attempts are made to define and buttress human rights. The core of the concept is the same everywhere: Human rights are the rights that one has simply because one is human. They are universal and equal. The following pubilcation gives an overview of Human Rights across the globe.

15.616 is an introduction to business law which covers the fundamentals, including contracts, liability, regulation, employment, and corporations, with an in-depth treatment of the legal issues relating to breakthrough technologies, including the legal framework of R&D, the commercialization of new high-technology products in start-ups and mature companies, and the liability and regulatory implications of new products and innovative business models. There is extensive attention to national and international intellectual property protection and strategies. Examples are drawn from many industries, including information technology, communications, and life sciences.

This Intellectual Property Supplement from eLangdell Press contains the text of federal laws and regulations in the area of copyright, trademarks and patents. The editors have endeavored to gather all relevant laws, rules and regulations. This collection is intended to be used primarily as a statutory supplement for law students and legal scholars in academic settings, although practitioners in this area of law will also find it useful.This volume, Volume 1: Copyright Statutory Law contains the text of Title 17 of the United States Code as it appears on the most current edition available on the U.S. Government website FDSYS. Updates to the U.S. Code not yet found in the FDSYS published editions can be found in the United States House of Representatives Office of Law Revision Counsel's Classification Tables.

This Intellectual Property Supplement from eLangdell Press contains the text of federal laws and regulations in the area of copyright, trademarks and patents. The editors have endeavored to gather all relevant laws, rules and regulations. This collection is intended to be used primarily as a statutory supplement for law students and legal scholars in academic settings, although practitioners in this area of law will also find it useful.This volume, Volume III: Trademark Statutory Law contains Chapter 22 of Title 15 of the United States Code as it appears on the most current edition available on the U.S. Government website FDSYS. Updates to the U.S. Code not yet found in the FDSYS published editions can be found in the United States House of Representatives Office of Law Revision Counsel's Classification Tables.

This Intellectual Property Supplement from eLangdell Press contains the text of federal laws and regulations in the area of copyright, trademarks and patents. The editors have endeavored to gather all relevant laws, rules and regulations. This collection is intended to be used primarily as a statutory supplement for law students and legal scholars in academic settings, although practitioners in this area of law will also find it useful.This volume, Volume 2: Patent Statutory Law contains the text of Title 35 of the United States Code as it appears on the most current edition available on the U.S. Government website FDSYS. Updates to the U.S. Code not yet found in the FDSYS published editions can be found in the United States House of Representatives Office of Law Revision Counsel's Classification Tables.

In this course, the student will learn fundamental principles of international law and examine the historical development of these laws. The first half will define international law, identify its foundations, and review its historical development. The student will examine one of the most central debates of international law: how these laws are enforced -- or, in many cases, not enforced. The inherent conflicts of international law with national sovereignty, domestic politics, and balance of power will also be reviewed. This course will explore specific topics within international law, such as the laws of war, the laws of the sea, international human rights, international crimes, environmental law, protection of intellectual property, and international trade. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain how international law has developed over time; discuss the difficulties in enforcement of international law; identify issues that international law seeks to resolve; demonstrate an understanding of how power and politics influence the formation, application, and enforcement of international law; assess the effectiveness of international law in resolving transnational disputes. (Political Science 412)

This is not a comprehensive citation reference work. Its limited aim is to serve as a tutorial on how to cite the most widely referenced types of U.S. legal material, taking account of local norms and the changes in citation practice forced by the shift from print to electronic sources. It begins with an introductory unit. That is followed immediately by one on "how to cite" the categories of authority that comprise a majority of the citations in briefs and legal memoranda. Using the full table of contents one can proceed through this material in sequence. The third unit, organized around illustrative examples, is intended to be used either for review and reinforcement of the prior "how to" sections or as an alternative approach to them. One can start with it since the illustrative examples for each document type are linked back to the relevant "how to" principles.

Access also available here: https://www.cali.org/books/introduction-basic-legal-citation

Table of Contents
1-000. Basic Legal Citation: What and Why?
2-000. How to Cite
3-000. Examples - Citations Of
4-000. Abbreviations and Omissions Used in Citations
5-000. Underlining and Italics
6-000. Placing Citations in Context
7-000. Reference Tables

This course will introduce you to the basic knowledge and skills required of paralegals. By the end of this course, you will have a clear understanding of what a paralegal does, the skills needed to be a successful paralegal, and what it will take to begin a career as a paralegal.

This text explores the laws governing the use of land. Sometimes narrowly focused, often intensely local, land use regulation may give the impression of a highly specialized field with small stakes.

Table of Contents
1. Preface
2. The Zoning System

2.1. Introduction
2.2. Variances
2.3. Special Use Permits
2.4. Comprehensive Planning
3. Judicial Review

3.1. Substantive Due Process
3.2. Adjudication and Quasi-Adjudication
3.3. Procedure
3.4. Discriminatory Zoning
3.5. Anticompetitive Zoning
3.6. Spot Zoning
3.7. Contract Zoning
3.8. Nonconforming Uses
3.9. Vested Rights
3.10. Neighbor Consent Provisions
4. Regulatory Takings

4.1. Origins
4.2. Theory
4.3. Doctrine
4.4. Procedural Issues
4.5. Exactions
4.6. German Takings Law

This course studies the interaction between law, courts, and social movements in shaping domestic and global public policy. Examines how groups mobilize to use law to affect change and why they succeed and fail. The class uses case studies to explore the interplay between law, social movements, and public policy in current areas such as gender, race, labor, trade, environment, and human rights. Finally, it introduces the theories of public policy, social movements, law and society, and transnational studies.

Most socially significant issues from America's past were brought before the nation's courts. Subject introduces the themes and events of American law since 1787, focusing on three recurring themes in American public life: liberty, equality, and property. Readings consist mostly of original court cases, especially from the US Supreme Court. Subject also focuses on the historical connections between cases and broader social, political, and cultural trends.

This textbook provides context and essential concepts across the entire range of legal issues with which managers and business executives must grapple. The text provides the vocabulary and legal acumen necessary for businesspeople to talk in an educated way to their customers, employees, suppliers, government officials—and to their own lawyers.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Law and Legal Systems
Chapter 2: Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics
Chapter 3: Courts and the Legal Process
Chapter 4: Constitutional Law and US Commerce
Chapter 5: Administrative Law
Chapter 6: Criminal Law
Chapter 7: Introduction to Tort Law
Chapter 8: Introduction to Contract Law
Chapter 9: The Agreement
Chapter 10: Real Assent
Chapter 11: Consideration
Chapter 12: Legality
Chapter 13: Form and Meaning
Chapter 14: Third-Party Rights
Chapter 15: Discharge of Obligations
Chapter 16: Remedies
Chapter 17: Products Liability
Chapter 18: Intellectual Property
Chapter 19: Insurance
Chapter 20: Relationships between Principal and Agent
Chapter 21: Liability of Principal and Agent; Termination of Agency
Chapter 22: Partnerships: General Characteristics and Formation
Chapter 23: Partnership Operation and Termination
Chapter 24: Hybrid Business Forms
Chapter 25: Corporation: General Characteristics and Formation
Chapter 26: Legal Aspects of Corporate Finance
Chapter 27: Corporate Powers and Management
Chapter 28: Securities Regulation
Chapter 29: Corporate Expansion, State and Federal Regulation of Foreign Corporations, and Corporate Dissolution
Chapter 30: Employment Law
Chapter 31: Labor-Management Relations
Chapter 32: Consumer Credit Transactions
Chapter 33: Secured Transactions and Suretyship
Chapter 34: Mortgages and Nonconsensual Liens
Chapter 35: Bankruptcy
Chapter 36: Introduction to Property: Personal Property and Fixtures

Provides a basic understanding of legal issues that corporations meet during their existence. Follows one firm throughout its life; from birth to bankruptcy, first as a breakaway from an established high-tech firm, then proceeding through initial funding efforts, establishment of its capital and corporate structure, and through problems in labor, trade secrets, contracts and antitrust, product liability, and resolution of transnational and domestic business disputes. This course provides a basic understanding of legal issues that corporations face during their existence. The course starts by providing the basic building blocks of business law. We then follow a firm through its life cycle from its "breakaway" from an established firm through it going public. The materials covered during 15.647 (the first half of the semester) emphasize the organization and financing of the company. In the second half of the course we examine a broad array of law-sensitive issues relating to intellectual property, product development, M&A transactions, international trade, the duties of directors and officers, business disputes, and bankruptcy and reorganization. The goal of the course is not to impart technical legal skills, but to enhance the judgment which students will bring to their responsibilities as entrepreneurs, managers in established companies, or consultants and advisors. There are two take-home exercises, and no exams.

In The Law of Corporate Finance and Financial Markets, much of the course focuses on M&A and the law-sensitive aspects of financial services and financial markets. The course is designed to be an introduction to business law which covers the fundamentals, including contracts, liability, regulation, employment, and corporations. 15.617 provides an in-depth treatment of the law of finance.

Runway extension, construction of works in protected areas, subsidizing sustainable projects... they all happen within a design space, limited amongst others by legal rules and requirements. To make optimal use of the design space, you have to know about these rules and requirements. When does a contract have to be tendered out, what rules are then applicable, what can be subsidized and what are the restrictions, how to comply with air quality requirements and can a frog really block a project? What alternative designs can be given in order to avoid legal problems? These and other problems will be addressed in this course.

Provides an introduction to legal and institutional arrangements for the establishment, transfer, and control over property under US and selected comparative systems including India and South Africa. Situates the debate about property in the context of international development and planning. Examines the relationship to the use of land by individuals, entities, communities, and the State through "private" and "public" regulation. Emphasis on efficient resource use, institutional, entitlement, and cultural approaches to property, distribution, and other social aspects, and the relationship between property, culture, and democracy. This course is designed to offer an advanced introduction to key legal issues that arise in the area of property and land-use in American law, with a comparative focus on the laws of India and South Africa. The focus of the course is not on law itself, but on the policy implications of various rules, doctrines and practices which are covered in great detail. Legal rules regulating property are among the most fundamental to American, and most other, economies and societies. The main focus is on American property and land use law due to its prominence in international development policy and practice as a model, though substantial comparative legal materials are also introduced from selected non-western countries such as India and South Africa.

Terence Lau & Lisa Johnson’s The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business is a book for today’s student, who expects learning to be comprised not only of substance, but also of interactive exercises and multimedia. This book streamlines the presentation of material to ensure that every page is relevant, engaging, and interesting to undergraduate business students, without losing the depth of coverage that they need to be successful in their academic journeys and in their professional careers. This is not Legal Environment of Business (LEB) “light.” Rather, this is LEB without risk of students’ eyes glazing over in boredom or from lack of comprehension. This is LEB presented in an exciting way, where every page is interesting to students and relevant to real life.

The authors recognize that the sheer volume of information to be covered in a LEB course makes it one of the more challenging courses for the business undergraduate. Not only do typical LEB texts read like the first year curriculum at law school, but also the LEB course is grounded in the humanities, which can make the subject even more demanding for students who are also taking statistics, economics, finance, and accounting.

Each chapter contains not only substantive law, but also illustrative videos, interactive exercises for hands-on learning, and discussion questions for critical thought. Additionally, each chapter presents “A Question of Ethics” section, which contains real world ethical dilemmas relevant to the topic under study. These videos, exercises, discussion questions, and ethics sections all provide opportunities for students to apply concepts that they are learning in the context of relevant LEB topics that shape or restrain actual decision-makers’ actions. It’s real world practice in the safety of the classroom environment.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Law
Chapter 2: The Court System
Chapter 3: Litigation
Chapter 4: Alternative Dispute Resolution
Chapter 5: The Constitution
Chapter 6: Contracts
Chapter 7: Torts
Chapter 8: The Property System
Chapter 9: Intellectual Property
Chapter 10: Criminal Law
Chapter 11: Business Organizations
Chapter 12: Employment Discrimination
Chapter 13: Business in the Global Legal Environment

A license is a document that specifies what can and cannot be done with a work. It grants permissions and states restrictions. Broadly speaking, an open license is one that grants permission to access, re-use and redistribute a work with few or no restrictions (definition from Openedefinition.org).

In previous modules we had a chance to discuss the background of open licenses and what they are. We learned that Creative Commons (CC) is the most widely used open license for open educational resources. In this module, we will discuss CC licenses– what they are, to what they pertain, and how to mark our works with them.