Welcome to….

OBE-118Legal Environment of

Business!!!

Professor John A. McKinsey

Fall 2004, Section 10, Tuesday Evenings

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• Office Hours (TAHOE-2054)– Tuesday 5:00 to 5:45 PM– Thursday 9:00 to 9:45 AM– or by appointment

• E-Mail– mckinsey@csus.edu– Put “OBE118” in the subject header for faster response

• Telephone– CSUS Office (916) 278-7030

Finding Your Professor

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– Legal Environment Beatty, Samuelson, 2nd Edition

– Some handouts– Class Website

www.csus.edu/indiv/m/mckinsey– At the website you will find edited versions of

the lectures for you to download/ review/print/etc.

Text and Resources

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John McKinsey

- Full-time lawyer in Sacramento law firm. I specialize in the regulation of business.

- CSUS graduate

- Former nuclear power plant operator

- Why do I teach?

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Course Summary- Learning Goals

– Substantive law– Legal Reasoning– Relationship of law to business– Process of law– Critical thinking– Writing– Speaking

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Course Summary- Assessment

Exams

75%

Quizz-es

25%

Participation ??? (up to a full letter grade)

(See page 4 of syllabus)

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Exams

• Multiple choice questions• Sometimes short analysis questions• Exams increase in weight as semester goes on

(90, 100, 110 points)• You will need a Scantron form 882 for exams• Tests can include anything assigned for reading or

discussed in class

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Quizzes

• All quizzes are short and worth 10 points

• Twelve scheduled quizzes

• Bring a Scantron quizstrip to every class

• Best ten quiz scores count for total possible 100 points

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Reading Assignments

- See syllabus for course coverage- I do not tend to fall behind

This Week:

-Chap 1: 3, 5-17

-Chap 2: 27-28

Next Week:

-Chapter 4

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Succeeding in this Class• Read and attempt to understand concepts before

each class (Before class)• Use slides to make note taking in class more

effective (During class)• After class (within 48 hours) review reading and

lecture notes and make outline, etc that puts it all together (After class)

• Test yourself via groups or on your own and use results to conduct further studying (Between lecture and exam)

• Review before exam (Before exam)

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What is “The Law”?

- Rules of permissible conduct, limits on allowable conduct

- Not the same as a moral limit or rule, but is supposed to be reflective of morals and

ethics- But we all know there are many things that

you can do, but should not do.

The Law Ethics

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Role of Law in Business

The ways in which the law affects business are as numerous as the number of laws themselves

Enron, Worldcom, Tyco (Business structure)

The McDonald’s coffee spill (Torts)

Grace Inc. and “A Civil Action” (Environmental)Limit of VOC content in underarm deodorant (Product regulation)

Employees not paid overtime (Employment law)

Customer refuses to pay (Contracts)

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Types of Legal Situations

Transactional

Situational

Negotiation of contracts, purchases etc.

(these tend to occur in more informal settings)

Reactionary events such as claims made by someone else against you or you against them.

(these tend to occur in more formal settings such as law suits, criminal accusations, etc.)

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Types of Law- Nature

Substantive Law vs Procedural Law

Defines rights and duties

Explains how to make the law work

Ex: “You may not drive greater than the posted speed limit”

Ex: “To challenge a traffic citation you must pay the established bail amount by the deadline and indicate that you require a hearing”

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English Common Law

U.S. Constitution

State #1 Constitution

State #2 Constitution

Individual or Business

Federal Courts

Congress Executive Branch

State Courts

State Leg

State Exec

State Courts

State Leg

State Exec

Agencies Agencies

Agencies

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Types of Law- Source

• Constitutions

• Statutes

• Cases or Court Orders

• Regulations

• Ordinances / Codes

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Types of Law- Type

• Criminal

• Civil

• Administrative (Quasi Civil)

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Defining the Law

• Some law is “black letter”• Most law is very ambiguous and hard to pin

down– Court interpretations of statutes – “precedent”– Ethical interpretations– Tradition and practice of police, courts and

agencies– Case law or “common law”

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Cases

• Cases flesh out and define black letter law as well as create law of their own

• When reading a case, what things should you look for that tell you the importance and relevance of the case?

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Jurisprudence, or “What is Law?”

Legal Positivism

Natural Law

Legal Realism

“Law is what the sovereign says it is.”

Decisions stand, regardless of morality.

“An unjust law is no law at all and need not be obeyed.”

Laws must have a good moral basis.

“Enforcement of the law is more important than the law itself.”

Enforcers determine if the law is applied in a fair and consistent way.

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Applying the Law

• Begin with black letter law

• Evaluate the moral situation• Apply the moral pressure against the strength of the

law1) The less clear the black letter law, the more likely moral standard determines outcome.

2) The stronger the moral conviction the more likely moral standard determines outcome.

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What Standard???

Questions

• Can a judge use his or her own standard?• Must a judge go against his or her own belief?

• Does it matter if the judge is elected? Does it matter if the judge proclaimed the particular belief?

• What limits legislature?• What limits the majority?

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Overview of this Course

Introduction, Defining Law

Types of Law Forums Where Law is Applied

Torts Contracts

Product Liability

Secured Transactions

Employment Law

Bankruptcy

Property

Business Organizations

Some substantive

areas we get to

sample

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Next Week: Types of law• Read this week’s and next week’s assignment• Go to my website and start using the lecture slides

available there.• Compare this week’s reading to my lecture and

make some type of complete outline/ overview/ etc of this introductory topic.

• Be prepared for a quiz on Chapter 4 (scantron quizstrip).