GBUS 8280

Course Description

This course introduces students to selected areas of business law of particular relevance to general managers and their financial advisers, excluding tax law. The focus is less on the substance of particular legal rules, for which managers rely on their legal advisers, and more on the basic tools of legal analysis. This knowledge adds value in two respects. First, it facilitates communication with lawyers and understanding the advice they provide. Second, it demonstrates a way of analyzing problems that is different from, but complementary to, those taught in core business courses. The course begins with an overview of the foundational topics of the American legal system: the law of contracts, property, and torts. It then moves to substantive areas that managers routinely encounter, such as corporate governance, bankruptcy, intellectual property, and antitrust. The course examines the structure of the court systems and legal profession in the United States and provides some comparative analysis of other legal systems. Students learn to read and understand basic primary legal materials and recognize standard analytical techniques.