The Legal Environment of Business

Frank B. Cross was the Herbert D. Kelleher Centennial Professor of Business Law at The University of Texas at Austin Law School, where his research centered on judicial decision-making, the economics of law and litigation and traditional policy and doctrinal issues in administrative law. He wrote several books as well as pieces for the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, New York University Law Review, Texas Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Northwestern Law Review and UCLA Law Review. A former president of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business, Professor Cross received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and J.D. from Harvard Law School. Roger LeRoy Miller, Ph.D., has served on the faculty of several universities, including the University of Washington, Clemson University and the University of Miami School of Law. As a professor, he has taught intellectual property law and entertainment law, among other subjects. A widely published and respected author, his work has appeared in the Insurance Counsel Journal, Defense Research, California Trial Lawyers Journal, Antitrust Bulletin, Wisconsin Law Review and Connecticut Law Review. He has authored or co-authored numerous authoritative textbooks on law, including BUSINESS LAW: TEXT & CASES; BUSINESS LAW TODAY: TEXT & SUMMARIZED CASES and THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT TODAY. Professor Miller completed his studies at the University of California at Berkeley and University of Chicago.

1. Law and Legal Reasoning.
2. Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
3. Court Procedures.
4. Business Ethics.
5. Business and the Constitution.
Unit One Application and Ethics: “Arbitration, No Class Actions”.
UNIT II: THE PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
6. Tort Law.
7. Strict Liability and Product Liability.
8. Intellectual Property Rights.
9. Internet Law, Social Media, and Privacy.
10. Criminal Law and Cyber Crime.
11. International and Space Law.
Unit Two Application and Ethics: “The Biggest Data Breach of All Time”.
UNIT III: THE COMMERCIAL ENVIRONMENT.
12. Formation of Traditional and E-Contracts.
13. Contract Performance, Breach, and Remedies.
14. Sales and Lease Contracts.
Appendix to Chapter 14: An International Sales Contract.
15. Creditor-Debtor Relations and Bankruptcy.
Unit Three Application and Ethics: “Fantasy Sports--Legal Gambling?”.
UNIT IV: THE BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENT.
16. Small Businesses and Franchises.
17. Limited Liability Business Forms.
18. Corporations.
19. Agency Relationships.
20. Employment Law.
21. Employment Discrimination.
22. Immigration and Labor Law.
Unit Four Application and Ethics: “Health Insurance and Small Business”.
UNIT V: THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT.
23. Administrative Agencies.
24. Consumer Protection.
25. Environmental Law.
26. Real Property and Land-Use Control.
27. Antitrust Law.
28. Investor Protection and Corporate Governance.
Unit Five Application and Ethics: “Climate Change”.
Appendix A: How to Brief Cases and Analyze Case Problems.
Appendix B: The Constitution of the United States.
Appendix C: Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Appendix D: Answers to the Issue Spotters.
Appendix E: Sample Answers for Business Case Problems with Sample Answer.