… examines several advanced topics in the legal environment that will equip students
to recognize the legal challenges they will encounter
as managers and entrepreneurs …
Prerequisite: BLAW2301, Legal Foundations of Business
Stillman’s Mission
… is to enrich each student’s life through an ethics-centered education focusing on transforming concepts into business practice.
Welcome To The Course
Welcome to Advanced Topics. This is your course syllabus. We will meet F2F weekly (MW, 2:00p – 3:15p). I will update this syllabus if I add something to the course or if something unexpected intervenes … like a hurricane or blizzard. It is your responsibility to remain current on course assignments and materials by reviewing this syllabus regularly for updates.
You should review this syllabus, calendar and the other materials included in this site carefully. You will find answers to any questions when you review the rest of the information included on this site. If you have any questions after you’ve reviewed the site and this syllabus, click here to contact me.
Before We Meet
We will meet for the first time on Monday, August 28th at 2p in JH223.
Before we meet please click Before We Begin to complete some housekeeping items that include introducing yourself to your classmates, agreeing to the learning contract and completing your Slack account creation.
Click here to signup for Slack and complete your Slack profile. You must use your SHU email (firstname.lastname@student.shu.edu) to complete the signup process. Your Slack team name is 3174310aa.slack.com. Please use your full name, e.g., @firstname.lastname, as your screen name when you join the course team and create your Slack profile. Do not use your SHU short name or some variation thereof. your Slack signup immediately since all of our course communication will be via Slack and I will not use email for our course communication in the future.
Introduction
Managers face a variety of legal challenges that can both help and hinder success. This course examines several advanced topics in the legal environment that will provide a foundation that will equip students to recognize the legal challenges they will encounter as managers. We will examine legal issues involved in the areas of torts and products liability, antitrust, employment and labor law and also a most important area in this knowledge economy, intellectual property. While we will not turn students into lawyers, we will develop the legal knowledge and analytical skills that guide entrepreneurs in a complicated legal environment.
What Should You Expect?
The subject matter of the course is interesting, challenging and very timely. We will cover some very interesting topics that are particularly important in the economy of the 21st century. We will use a variety of digital platforms to interact with each other and the course materials. I will actively engage you through the use of the Socratic Method, both in class and during our discussions outside class. You will have a better sense of my class sessions after you read my perspective on Teaching and Learning.
Learning Objectives
This course is an elective that is required for those students who have decided to pursue the Minor in Legal Studies. The course will help prepare students to meet the legal and regulatory challenges and opportunities they can expect to encounter as managers of private and public businesses. The course provides a conceptual framework for understanding the various legal tools available to managers engaged in evaluating and pursuing opportunities. This course will not make you a lawyer. It will, however, help you to develop insights into the law so you can handle the legal aspects of management with confidence. This includes developing legal literacy and learning what to look for when selecting an attorney and then … knowing when to call one.
Required Course Text
Hunter, Shannon, Amoroso & O’Sullivan-Gavin. Law, Business and Regulation: A Managerial Perspective, CreateSpace (2017).
The required course text is available from the SHU bookstore or you can click the link above to order the text directly from the publisher, CreateSpace. You will need the text before our first class meeting to complete the assignments described in the Course Schedule.
Additional Materials
I may assign additional materials for use in our course. I will post links to those materials in advance in the Course Schedule. Please check the syllabus regularly for updates.
Technology
You are already familiar with my expectations about the use of technology in my courses. Your participation in this course will require you to engage with a number of different digital platforms. You will communicate using email and Google+, and perhaps others. You will prepare your writing assignments using digital platforms that will allow you to incorporate multimedia that will enhance your text based content. You will use resources as varied as a search engine (Google, DuckDuckGo or Bing) and also the resources available from our own Walsh Library.
You are responsible for “figuring it out” when it comes to the “how to” aspects of a project. If you don’t know how to do something … “Google” it!
Many of my students have told me that “figuring it out” was both an unexpected and beneficial experience and a critical learning outcome.
Course Policies
It is your responsibility to become familiar with my Course Policies including in class performance; attendance, preparation & participation; assignments; course communication; assessment and plagiarism. Please review them carefully.
As in the law … ignorance (of the Course Policies) is not an excuse.
Contact Me
Professor John H. Shannon
- Office: 651 Jubilee Hall
- Email: john DOT shannon AT shu DOT edu
- Office Hours: Mon & Wed, 12:30p – 1:30p (JH651); Mon, 9:30a – 10:30a (Google+); also by appt
You will find additional information about my availability here.