NEW YORK UNIVERSITY



NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Department of Accounting,

Taxation and Business Law

C10.0006.01 & C10.0006.03

Law, Business and Society (LBS)

Spring 2008

C10.0006.01

Monday/Wednesday: 9:30am – 10:45am

Room: Tisch LC10

C10.0006.03

Monday/Wednesday 3:30pm – 4:45pm

Room: Tisch UC61

|Professor Jeanne Calderon | |

|Department of Accounting, Taxation and Business Law | |

|KMEC: Room 10-83 (10th Floor) | |

|Office Hours: Monday 11:00am – 3:00pm Wed. 1:30pm – 3:00pm | |

|Tel: (212) 998-0058 | |

|Fax: (212) 995-4004 | |

|E-mail: jcaldero@stern.nyu.edu | |

LAW, BUSINESS AND SOCIETY

COURSE OUTLINE

DESCRIPTION

Every professional business person must be aware of how our legal system works and impacts business decisions. The interaction between law and business is multidimensional involving social, political, ethical and technological considerations. Students will gain an understanding of how the legal system has evolved and continues to evolve in relation to business and society. The overriding objective of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to critically and analytically think, read and write about the interface between the law, business and society.

COURSE MATERIALS

a. Required Textbook:

Managers and the Legal Environment – by Bagley & Savage, Thomson/West, Fifth Edition. It will be accompanied by a study guide. Students are required to purchase the textbook and study guide.

Handouts also will be distributed in class, or posted on Blackboard, when necessary to supplement the text. See c. below.

b. Internet research access: LEXIS-NEXIS (one of the world’s primary legal databases) is accessible through NYU’s Bobst Library online database. Go to the NYU Home page, click on Bobst Library, click on “articles via databases”, under popular databases, click on “Lexis-Nexis”, log on using your NYU Net ID.

c. Use of Blackboard:

We will be using a web-based software package called “Blackboard” in this course. I assume that most, if not all, of you have used it before. It can be accessed through your web-browser at: . Log in with your Stern netID/password. You will be able to download, for example, this class syllabus, hand-outs, etc., as well as check for announcements that I might make. Blackboard is an integral part of this course and you are responsible for any information that is posted there. I also frequently send announcements via email. Therefore, please be sure your Stern email account is functioning.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

1. During the week of February 3, 2008, I will give you the opportunity to select a partner or I will select one for you if you are unable to do so on your own. You will be required to prepare homework assignments and the position paper assignment with your partner.

2. Attendance in every class is extremely important and mandatory. Absences may by excused only in the case of documented serious illness, family emergency, religious observance or civic obligation. Recruiting activities are not acceptable reasons for class absence. Attendance will be taken. In the event you must miss a class, you should contact me in advance of class by means of a brief e-mail message stating the reason for your absence. Also, if you do miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out from your partner what materials were covered, what additional assignments were given and what items may have been distributed in class.

3. As a courtesy to your classmates and to me, you are expected to arrive to class on time and stay to the end of the class period. Chronically arriving late or leaving class early will have a negative impact on a student’s grade. Students may enter class late only if given permission by me and can do so without disrupting the class.

4. I will be prepared for every class and expect that you will do the same. You should carefully read all of the assigned materials (such as textbook chapters, handouts, etc.) prior to the class session in which they will be discussed. You also should work with the relevant chapters of the study guide before and/or after class.

5. Be prepared to discuss any assigned material if called upon during class. Since I frequently call on students whose hands are not raised, you should let me know before the start of class if some emergency has made it impossible for you to adequately prepare for that class.

6. Given the importance of class participation, I will seek to learn your names as quickly as possible and I want you to learn each other’s names as well. To facilitate that, I will ask you to do several things. First, please select a seat that you will be comfortable with for the entire term. I will circulate a seating chart during the third session.  I will ask you to tape a photograph of your face to this seating chart. Please copy the photo from your NYU ID card for these purposes. Also, please use a name card throughout the course so that your classmates and I can easily see your name and refer to you by your name.

7. As stated above, this course requires classroom participation. I am interested in the quality, not quantity, of your contribution to class discussions. You do not need to speak frequently or in every class meeting. In fact, a student who participates only occasionally during the semester but contributes high quality comments to the discussion can receive full class participation credit whereas a student who talks a lot but contributes little of substance will lose class participation credit. I am aware that some of you may be shy about speaking out in the classroom. I respect this but strongly encourage you to participate nevertheless. Please make me aware of any reason why you find it difficult to speak in the classroom.

8. Chiara Szczesny is my secretary/administrative assistant (not one of my teaching assistants) who assists me with administrative tasks. She sits at the front desk of KMEC Suite 10-180 (10th Floor). Chiara can be reached at (212) 998-0043 or cszczesn@stern.nyu.edu.

9. I have listed my e-mail address on the first page. If I fail to respond to an e-mail message in a timely fashion, you should assume that your message got lost in cyberspace. If that happens, please leave me a voicemail message and contact my assistant, Chiara Szczesny. See paragraph 8 above.

10. Please do not use e-mail to send me written assignments: always submit a hard copy. However, you must retain an electronic copy of your work until your final grades are posted on Albert. If so requested, you must supply an electronic copy to me. Not submitting a copy of your work upon request will result in automatic failure in the assignment and possible failure in the class.

11. As indicated on the first page, my office hours will be held on Monday from 11:00am – 3:00pm and on Wednesdays from 1:30pm – 3:00pm in my office, Room KMEC 10-83.

12. There will be two teaching assistants for this course who will be available to assist you. Zhimin Lin is a second year law student at NYU Law School (zhiminlin@nyu.edu). She graduated with honors from the University of California at Berkeley School of Business. Zhimin also is working towards her CPA licensure in California.

Shawn Pelsinger is a second year law student at NYU Law School (shawn.pelsinger@nyu.edu). He graduated with honors from the Pennsylvania State University with a BA in economics and political science. I will announce in class the specific days, times and place where Zhimin and Shawn will be holding office hours. They also will be available via email. Zhimin and Shawn will assist me in reviewing your written work.

13. Students who may need special consideration because they have a disability should see me during office hours early in the semester. If you have a qualified disability and will require academic accommodation during this course, please contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities ( or call 998-4980) and provide me with a letter from the Center verifying your registration and outlining the recommended accommodations.

14. Laptops, cell phones, smartphones and other electronic devices are a disturbance to both your classmates and me. All electronic devices must be turned off prior to the start of class.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES

The purpose of grading in this course, as in all courses, is twofold. One purpose is to evaluate your performance for purposes of the academic system. The other (and more important) purpose is to provide feedback to you and me on your ability to develop, utilize and share ideas concerning the covered topics and situations.

The final grade for this course will be based (approximately!) on the components set forth below. I present these percentages just to give you some sense of the relative importance of each assignment. All course requirements must be completed to pass this course.

|Class Attendance and Participation |10% |

|Homework |10% |

|Midterm Examination |20% |

|Position Paper |20% |

|Group Project |20% |

|Final Examination |20% |

|Total: |100% |

Grade for this course will be distributed following the recently enacted Stern Grading Guidelines for Core Courses in the Undergraduate College:

25-35% A’s – awarded for excellent work

50-70% B’s – awarded for good or very good work

5-15% C’s (or below) – awarded for adequate or below average work

Midterm and Final Examinations

There will be a midterm and final examination. The final examination will be non-cumulative. Each of the exams will include material covered in the textbook, handouts and class sessions. A make-up exam is allowed only if I am notified prior to the scheduled examination and the appropriate medical or personal documentation is provided. I strongly discourage your from requesting a make-up exam.

The homework assignments will take various forms, as I will explain in class. The position paper format will be explained in class. Four students will work on the final group project’s written and oral presentation aspects, as I will explain in class.

POLICY ON CHEATING

All students are expected to follow the Stern Code of Conduct ().

Academic dishonesty undermines the school’s student code of conduct and is unfair to other students. I will refer any instances of academic dishonesty to the Stern School Discipline Committee. Academic dishonesty may take many forms. Copying the work of another and submitting it as one’s own, failing to attribute credit to a reference source, allowing another to copy one’s work and copying from another during an exam are a few examples of academic dishonesty. You can find a good definition of plagiarism and help in avoiding it at .

COURSE SCHEDULE

The schedule set forth below is subject to change as the need arises. All changes will be announced in class, in an email message and/or on Blackboard.

If you miss a lecture it is your responsibility to know about any announced changes. You should ask your partner to pick up a copy of any handouts and to give to you notes missed in the event of your absence.

All chapter references are to your textbook: Managers and the Legal Environment.

|Date |Subject |Assignment |

|Jan 23 |Courts, Sources of Law & Litigation |Ch. 3 |

| | | |

|Jan 28 |Cont’d | |

| | | |

|Jan 30 |Constitutional Bases for Business Regulation |Ch. 2 |

| |

|Feb 4 |Contracts I: Introduction to Contracts |Ch. 7 |

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|Feb 6 |Cont’d | |

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|Feb 11 |Contracts II: Sales and E-Commerce |Ch. 8 (skip p.267-273, 277-279) |

| | | |

|Feb 13 |Cont’d | |

| | | |

|Feb 18 |President’s Day Holiday |NO CLASS |

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|Feb 20 |Contracts III: Employment Agreements |Ch. 12 |

| | | |

|Feb 25 |Contracts IV: Civil Rights and Employment Discrimination |Ch. 13 |

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|Feb 27 |Torts |Ch. 9 |

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|Mar 3 |Cont’d | |

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|Mar 5 |Product Liability |Ch. 10 and Ch. 8 (p.267-273) |

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|Mar 10 |Cont’d | |

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|Mar 12 |Midterm Examination | |

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|Mar 17-21 |Spring Break Week |NO CLASSES |

| | | |

|Mar 24 |Property Rights I: Intellectual Property |Ch. 11 |

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|Mar 26 |Cont’d | |

| | | |

|Mar 31 |Property Rights II: Real Property |Ch. 18 |

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|April 2 |Agency |Ch. 5 |

| | |Position Paper Due |

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|April 7 |Cont’d | |

| | | |

|April 9 |Forms of Business Organization |Ch. 19 |

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|April 14 |Cont’d | |

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|April 16 |Directors, Officers and Controlling Shareholders |Ch. 20 |

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|April 21 |Cont’d | |

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|April 23 |Securities I: Public and Private Offerings |Ch. 22 |

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|April 28 |Securities II: Fraud and Insider Trading/Criminal Law |Ch. 23/Ch. 14 (Emphasize pages 514-519, |

| | |522-535, 539-541) |

| | | |

|April 30 |Debtor-Creditor Relations and Bankruptcy |Ch. 24 |

| | | |

|May 5 |Group Presentations |Final Group Project Due |

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|May 7-14 |Final Examination | |

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