Business Law in the United States

What you'll learn

• Explain the sources of American law, federalism and the Commerce Clause, the effect of the Bill of Rights on business, precedent and the role of administrative agencies, and classify legal issues that arise in business.
• Describe the court system and the stages of a civil action, compare negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation, calculate limitation deadlines and judgment interest and evaluate settlement decisions using expected value.
• Analyze whether a contract has been formed, applying the rules on offer, acceptance, consideration, intention, capacity, legality and form, including the battle of the forms and online contracting.
• Interpret contract terms, evaluate limitation clauses and warranty disclaimers, apply the implied covenant of good faith, and identify defects, discharge by impracticability or force majeure, material breach, substantial performance and the perfect tender rule.
• Calculate expectation and reliance damages limited by foreseeability and mitigation, distinguish liquidated damages from penalties, identify equitable remedies and apply UCC Article 2 on warranties, risk of loss and buyer and seller remedies.
• Analyze negligence claims using duty, breach, cause in fact, proximate cause and damages, and apply the Hand formula, premises liability, comparative negligence, negligent misrepresentation and respondeat superior.
• Identify business torts, including fraud, defamation, trade libel, tortious interference, Lanham Act unfair competition and trade secret misappropriation, and analyze strict product liability and CPSC reporting duties.
• Apply agency principles and compare the legal features of sole proprietorships, partnerships, LPs, LLPs, LLCs and corporations, including veil piercing, responsible-person liabilities and franchise disclosure.
• Explain corporate governance, directors' duties of care and loyalty, the business judgment rule and oversight duties, derivative suits and minority protections, and the basics of securities registration and exemptions.
• Classify workers, calculate overtime, apply anti-discrimination and accommodation duties, at-will exceptions, WARN and OWBPA requirements and state non-compete law, and describe collective bargaining.
• Apply FTC Act, state UDAP, antitrust, privacy, breach notification, CAN-SPAM and TCPA requirements to pricing, advertising, environmental claims, competitor contacts, data breaches and electronic marketing.
• Analyze leases, intellectual property ownership, secured transactions and insolvency priorities, and conduct a legal risk audit that scores and responds to risks across the course.