Welcome to

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Welcome to.OBE-118Legal Environment of
Business!!!
Fall 2004, Section 10, Tuesday Evenings

• Professor John A. McKinsey

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Finding Your Professor

• Office Hours (TAHOE-2054)
• Tuesday 500 to 545 PM
• Thursday 900 to 945 AM
• or by appointment
• E-Mail
• mckinsey_at_csus.edu
• Put OBE118 in the subject header for faster
  response
• Telephone
• CSUS Office [phone]

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Text and Resources

• 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.

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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
(See page 4 of syllabus)
Exams 75
Quizz-es 25
Participation ??? (up to a full letter grade)
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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.
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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)
Employees not paid overtime (Employment law)
The McDonalds coffee spill (Torts)
Grace Inc. and A Civil Action (Environmental)
Limit of VOC content in underarm deodorant
(Product regulation)
Customer refuses to pay (Contracts)
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Types of Legal Situations
Transactional
Negotiation of contracts, purchases etc. (these
tend to occur in more informal settings)
Situational
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
15
English Common Law
U.S. Constitution
State 1 Constitution
State 2 Constitution
Individual or Business
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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
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.
Natural Law
Laws must have a good moral basis.
Enforcement of the law is more important than
the law itself.
Legal Realism
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 law

1) 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
Bankruptcy
Property
Business Organizations
Employment Law
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Next Week Types of law

• Read this weeks and next weeks assignment
• Go to my website and start using the lecture
  slides available there.
• Compare this weeks 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).