Last Updated: 11/27/2011
1. My Contact Information
Phone: 410-704-4866
Note: except during office hours, email probably reaches me sooner than a phone call to my office. If you want to talk outside of office hours, email me a phone number and a time to call you that same day or the next day.
Email: QJohnson@towson.edu
Hours Reserved for Meeting with Students Monday and Wednesday 1:00 p.m-2:00 p.m.
Office: Stephens 301G . You can request an appointment by emailing me or speaking to me in class. I cannot promise to be able to accommodate every request, but I will try. Making an appointment is your best bet for seeing me.
2.
Course Number: LEGL225.004
Course Title: Legal Environment of Business
Classroom: ST 204
Sources of law and our legal system, emphasis on court jurisdiction, procedure, tort and criminal law, contracts, sales, anti-trust law, and workers compensation and consumer, environmental and international law. Not open to those who successfully completed BULA 225.
3.
The course’s primary purpose is to introduce students to the foundation and basics of business law and its environment. In an increasingly complex business world and regulatory environment, business people need more than a passing acquaintance with the law and legal issues. Legal studies students study law with a grounding in business fundamentals -- including accounting, marketing, management-- to help them appreciate how legal issues affect business decision making. In addition, the legal studies program contributes to students’ critical thinking, communication, and leadership skills development.

Define the sources of law and our legal system, emphasis on court jurisdiction, procedure and basic legal concepts in the business environment.

Recognize the nature, operation and effect of the political, legal, regulatory, and court system as they apply to business
1


Identify and discuss key law concepts as they affect the business environment, particularly tort, criminal, contracts, sales, antitrust, worker’s compensation, consumer, environmental and international laws.

Identify potential legal problems in the business/marketing environment.

Evaluate factual problem situations, be able to apply legal concepts, and analyze possible responses.
 Become familiar with alternative dispute resolution systems
4.
After successfully completing the course, students will be able to—
• Explain and apply basic legal fundamentals such as court structure and process, contract law, personal injury, and business regulation.

Understand and explain the relationship between law and ethics

Use the tools of critical thinking to understand law and legal problems.
• Understand the structure of judicial opinions and how they are used to create law.

Read judicial opinions and identify the key legal issues.

Understand how law affects the conduct of business operations.

Analyze hypothetical situations, identify appropriate law, and apply legal concepts to solve legal and business problems.

Find legal information using university and internet legal sources.
5.
Kubasek, Browne, Herron, et al., Dynamic Business Law for Legal 225, Primis.
ISBN-10-0-39-015088-6.
You are required to deliver documents in this course electronically as files in Microsoft Word 2003 or
later. Thus, you must have ready, convenient access to Microsoft Word. Any Towson Student can purchase Microsoft Office software at a discount, from the University Union Bookstore at http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/auxservices/universitystore/MicrosoftTowsonUniversityStud entSoftwareProgram.asp
or from online vendors such as http://www.academicsuperstore.com/ .
Towson students may be able to obtain Microsoft products at an even deeper discount at https://elms08.e-academy.com/towson/ .
2

6.
The course is delivered partially through the World Wide Web and Internet email. Students must have routine, ready access to computer technology and the requisite knowledge enabling them, at a minimum, to perform all of the following tasks efficiently:
• Send and receive email over the Internet and archive the messages for easy reference later; at a minimum, students must check their Towson email accounts at the start and the end of
each week to see if there are messages relating to the course; they must keep copies of email from me or classmates related to the course (which they may need to prove that information was delivered, agreements made, or work submitted)
• Read material published on the World Wide Web
• Download and open PDF files, Word documents, and PowerPoint files from links on web pages
• Use Microsoft Word to produce well-formatted, easy-to-read documents fulfilling the requirements of written assignments; this includes the use of advance word-processing techniques such as paragraph styles, tables, automated page numbering, etc.
• Use Microsoft Excel to create simple tables of numerical data and, from those, to produce appropriate, effectively labeled and formatted charts.
• Read and, if necessary, print out my comments and tracked edits on documents returned in
Word
• Use our social network (Ning.com) to conduct asynchronous class work
7.
Over the 16 weeks of the semester, most students in this course should assume that they will need 6
to 8 hours a week, on average, to complete the assigned work — including class time. The workload is lighter in the first few weeks but increases steadily as the semester progresses. There is no final exam in this course, but there is a class meeting scheduled during the final exam period. The formal report is due no later than that final exam meeting.
• Establish the objectives, assignments, and schedule for the course.
• Share my knowledge and opinions about topics covered in the textbook and in additional assigned readings.
• Lead and moderate face to face and online synchronous and asynchronous discussions of assigned readings, encouraging students to express their opinions.
• Make evaluation criteria for high-stakes assignments clear to students in advance and return an adequately specific evaluation of the work they hand in.
• Maintain a regular schedule of office hours reserved for consultation with students and answer all email queries within 24 hours.
• Review and offer directive advice on all drafts.
• Return graded evaluations of assignments within a reasonable time and, in all cases.
3

9. Your Responsibilities as a Student
To earn a satisfactory grade in this course, all students are expected to
• Abide by the policies on attendance and tardiness.
• Participate actively and cooperatively in class discussions and group work.
• Post thoughtful, carefully written and edited responses to my prompts for every individual and group assignment.
• Hand in complete, carefully written and edited assignments on or before the deadlines for them.
• Hand in documents demonstrating mastery of the basic document design skills—particularly the effective use of headings, white space, bullet and number lists, tables, headers and footers, sections, and paragraph styles using Microsoft Word.
• Demonstrate professional standards for reliability, communication, pro-active problem solving, critical analysis, and cooperation in working on group and individual projects.
10. Grading Scheme
The course grade consists of 100 course-grade points. The course letter grade will be entered according to this conversion scheme, which is the standard policy at Towson for undergraduate grading:
Percentage
Range
93.5-100
89.5-93.4
86.5-89.4
83.5-86.4
79.5-83.4
76.5-79.4
69.5-76.4
66.5-69.4
59.5-66.4
0-59.4
Letter Grade
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
D+
D
F
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.33
1.00
0.00
Grade
Quality
Points
4.00
3.67
3.33
3.00
The numerical course grade is based on component grades given during the semester for the following deliverables:
4

15 Exam #2: (Midterm)
15 Exam#3:
20 Exam #4: (Final)
0
10
Writing Assignment#1
15 Writing Assignment#2
10 Writing Assignment#3
5 Class Participation
100
Crime and Intentional Torts
Negligence, Product Liability, Intellectual Property
Contracts
Case Summary
—FTC v. Trudeau
Case Summary —Jason Jason v. Kappa Alpha Order, Inc.
Blogs, Class Problems, Comments, and Homework
Case Presentations, Relevant Event Attendance, etc.
11.
All assignments are due via email NO LATER at 11:59 PM on the due date. Deadlines for all assignments have been posted and will be explained in class well in advance of when the documents are due. Remember, I do not accept late assignments. Failure to submit assignments will have an enormous impact on your final grade.
12
All work with exception of assignments posted to our social network must be submitted using a naming convention that I have created. This convention helps me sort through the hundreds of documents submitted throughout the semester. Any work submitted without this convention will be rejected, resulting in a zero (0) for the assignment. Remember, three missing assignments will result in a 20% reduction in your grade.
Subject: LEGL225_004_ASSIGNMENT NAME
File: LastName_FirstName_ASSIGNMENTNAME (ex. JohnsonQuincey_WA2_Ethics)
Remember: I only accept files in Microsoft Word 2003 (or later).
13. Attendance Policy
Students MUST attend all classes, arrive on time, and participate in the entire class session. Don’t
miss class participation in any week of the semester unless you have no choice because missing class will cause a substantial hit to your course grade.
Rationale
Students should regard this class as a community of learners. You will learn much from one another through the in-class and online discussions and through the interaction with me in class. Given the importance of student-student and student-instructor interaction in this course, there are penalties for missing class meetings and online discussions. Instructors follow University guidelines as stated in the Undergraduate Catalog (“Class Attendance/Absence Policy”) to determine whether an absence is excused or unexcused. According to University’s policy (Undergraduate Catalog 2006-
2007 p. 22) students are excused for the following reasons:
Due Date
2/28/11
3/16/11
4/25/11
5/20/11
2/14/11
4/4/11
See
Syllabus
5

 Illness or injury when the student is unable to attend class
 Religious observance where the nature of the observance prevents the student from attending class
 Participation in university activities at the request of university authorities (e.g. Intercollegiate Athletics,
Forensics Team, Dance Company, etc.)
 Compelling verifiable circumstances beyond the control of the student
Excusing Absences and Completing Make-up Work
If you think you have a good reason for missing a class meeting or discussion-board participation in an online week, you may request that your absence be excused. To do this, send me an email memo explaining the circumstances. If I agree that the explanation as to why you were absent constitutes a good excuse for missing the meeting or online participation, I will grant your request. I will grant no more than two such requests for anyone during a semester unless you have a documented good excuse. (I explain more about documenting an excuse below.)
If you are absent, you should try to provide documentation verifying that the reason was something beyond your control, such as a form or note from a healthcare provider, a court, a law enforcement agency, or your supervisor at work. You may request up to two excused absences without offering to document the excuse and earn them by turning in acceptable make-up assignments on time. If circumstances force you to request more excused absences that two, you must provide some sort of documentation to verify your excuse for the third absence and any subsequent absences. If health problems cause you to miss more than three classes, I may require that you seek a disability letter.
Request for Excused Absence
Requests for excused absences must be e-mailed in memo format, with documentation attached, at the class session immediately following the absence. Requests for excused absences for religious observations must be made prior to the absence.
One unexcused absence will be waived.
Grade Deductions for Absences, Early Leaving, and Lateness

Each unexcused absence = 3 percent of grade deduction

Each late classroom arrival = 1 percent grade deduction

Low or no classroom participation or other non-professional behavior = point deductions at discretion of instructors

Four unexcused absences will most likely result in an F for the course.
14.
Students are expected to govern their online and face-to-face communication and interaction to the norms of courteous and respectful behavior expected at Towson. I will caution and counsel violators of these norms in private.
If a student who has been warned repeats unacceptable behavior, I will report the matter to the appropriate university authorities, which may result in the student's removal from the course.
University Code of Conduct: Students are expected to know and follow the Code of Student Conduct
( http://www.towson.edu/studentaffairs/policies/conduct.asp
) as found in the 2009-2010 University
Catalog, Appendix F, pp. 232. The Student Conduct Rationale section reads as follows:
6

The primary purpose for the imposition of discipline in the university setting is to protect the campus community. Consistent with that purpose, reasonable efforts will also be made to foster the personal, educational and social development of those students who are held accountable for violations of university regulations. However, the university must commit its policies and procedures first of all to protect and promote the academic enterprise. Consequently, it may be necessary to suspend or expel students who have been found responsible for violations of this Code, or who otherwise pose a substantial danger to the campus community.
Cell phone and Smart Phone policy: During on-site class meetings, please turn off cell phones and smart phones. If it is absolutely necessary to keep one of these devices turned on to receive an important call, please turn off the device’s ring tone and set it to alert you inaudibly. If you have to answer a phone call during class, please leave the room as unobtrusively as possible. If you are caught using a cell phone for text-messaging or any non-class purpose during class, you will lose 50 percent or more of Class Participation score, and you may be asked to leave the class.
Use of laptop computers in class: During on-site class meetings, if you wish to use a laptop computer to take notes, please leave the wireless modem off. You should not be using the laptop to check email, surf the Web, or work on assignments unrelated to this course—anyone caught using their computer in this fashion will lose 50 percent or more of Class Participation score, and you may be asked to leave the class.
15.
Students in this course will be held to the traditional standards for academic honesty, which are codified for Towson University students in the Student Academic Integrity Policy found here: http://wwwnew.towson.edu/provost/resources/studentacademic.asp
. . Violating this policy is likely to have grave consequences for your grade in the course and could even lead, in severe and flagrant cases, to dismissal from the university.
Intentionally presenting the intellectual property belonging to another person or organization as though it were one's own writing is fraud, plain and simple. The conventions governing the use of published information in academic writing are not so plain and simple, but students in this course are expected to have learned them already. I will use part of one class meeting to review the standard academic rules and correct procedures for reporting information from other sources. But you should
already know them. Therefore, If I detect any violation of these rules and procedures, I will not be swayed by pleas of ignorance. Violations will be punished with either a 0 (zero) for the work in question or with a significant grade reduction, depending on the extent of and apparent intent behind the violation of standard academic protocols for properly re-using and citing already published information.
The APA style of citing sources will be the standard in this course. You can consult examples for APA citation rules in a zillion sites on the Web, including Bedford/ St. Martin's online citation guide.
16.
Students needing accommodation due to a disability should see me during office hours. Please bring with you a statement from Disability Support Services authorizing your accommodation. Towson’s
Disability Support Services office can be contacted at (410) 704-2638. See their website at http://www.towson.edu/dss/studentguide/index.asp
.
7

17.
If I think a student needs some remedial help to improve fundamental writing skills, I will refer that student to the CBE Writing Proficiency Program, located in ST 117. Students wishing to set up an appointment may do so by emailing them at cbewriting@towson.edu
or by calling them at 410-704-
4379. Students who want to work on specific points of grammar and punctuation they realize they need help with should make use of the resources at http://wwwnew.towson.edu/ows/ .
Please note that the last day to drop the class is noted in the online Academic Calendar at http://wwwnew.towson.edu/registrar/calendars/ . Students dropping on or before this date will receive a “W” on their official transcript. Withdrawal after that date will require an assignment of a letter grade for the course.
April 11
(Monday) Last day to withdraw from full term courses with a grade of W.
8

This schedule presents the planned dates for course topics and assignments. It may be altered depending on class progress or other events that affect coverage of the indicated topic or assignment on the scheduled date.
Date Session Topic
Introduction to Course and Law
Homework

Read Chapter 1— Introduction to Dynamic Business Law

Complete Blog Entry#1 – What is the center of your moral life?, Due February 2, 2011

Prepare Complete Draft Writing Assignment#1—for Monday, February 7, 2011 (Bring to class)

Kubasek: Chapter 3—Legal System, Answer Questions, 1-5 submit, before 1:59 pm, 2/2/2011.

Kubasek: Appendix A-1 Critical Thinking and Business Law pp.-13-15
U.S. Legal System
Homework

Read Case and Prepare WA#1-Draft, 2/7/2011 (post in Blackboard Portfolio, Share with Professor

Re-read Kubasek: Chapter 3—U.S. Legal System
U.S. Legal System/Dispute Resolution
Reading/Summarizing Judicial Opinion
Homework

Revise Writing Assignment #1-Case Summary for Submission 2/14/11

Kubasek, Chapter 2--Business Ethics, Answer Chapter 2 Questions 1-7, due 2/9/11
Homework

Read Kubasek: Chapter 2--Business Ethics

Blog Entry#2—Due 2/14/11

Be Prepared to discuss blog entry in 2/14/11 class
Business Ethics
Business Ethics
Homework

Submit Writing Assignment#1—Case Summary

Read Kubasek, Chapter 5, Constitutional Principles, Answer Questions 1-7; Post before class 2/16/11
9

Homework
Kubasek, Chapter 5, Constitutional Principles
Homework

Analyze a false advertising case and Post to Portfolio

Kubasek, Chapter 7—Crime and the Business Community
Homework

Kubasek, Chapter 7—Crime and the Business Community
Constitutional Principles
Constitutional Principles
Crime and the Business Community
Crime and the Business Community
Homework
 Post-Summary-- Business Crime Article, (a) identify crime elements, (b) cite source ; Post before 2pm, 3/2/11.

Kubasek, Chapter 8 – Intentional Torts, Answer Questions 1-7 and Submit March 7, 2011
Intentional Torts
Homework

Kubasek, Chapter 8 – Intentional Torts

Blog#3 is Due
Intentional Torts
Homework
 Kubasek—Chapter 9—Negligence and Strict Liability, Answer Questions 1-10, Post before 2pm 3/14/11
10

Negligence and Strict Liability
Homework

Post summary -- Negligence case, identify key issues, Post before class March 16, 2011

Kubasek—Chapter 9—Negligence and Strict Liability
Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 9—Negligence and Strict Liability
Negligence and Strict Liability
Negligence and Strict Liability
Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 10-- Product Liability, Answer Questions 1-7 and 10-13; Due before class 4/4/11.
Product Liability
Homework
 Submit Writing Assignment#2 – Case Summary — Jason Jones v. Kappa Alpha Order, Inc., et al.
COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OF ALABAMA

Kubasek—Chapter 12—Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property-
Homework

Post Summary--Copyright or Trademark dispute, explain elements; Post before class 4/13/11

Kubasek—Chapter 12—Intellectual Property—Copyright, Answer Questions 1-4, April 11, 2011
11

Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 12—Intellectual Property--Trademark
Homework

Kubasek--Chapter 13—Introduction to Contracts
Intellectual Property--Copyright
Intellectual Property-Trademark
Introduction to Contracts
The Agreement
Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 14—The Agreement
The Agreement
Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 15—Consideration, Answer Questions 1 to 4, Post before class, April 25, 2011
Consideration
Consideration
Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 16—Capacity/Legality Answer Question 2-4, Chapter 16, Post by May 2, 2011
Capacity/Legality
Homework

Kubasek—Chapter 17—Legal Assent, Answer Question 1-5, Chapter 17, May 4, 2011
12

Homework

Kubasek, Chapter 18 -- Contracts in Writing
Homework

Kubasek, Chapter 20 – Discharge and Remedies
Homework

Kubasek, Chapter 20 – Discharge and Remedies
Legal Assent
Contracts in Writing
Discharge and Remedies
Last Class
Discharge and Remedies

ACCREDITED BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE
1.
Know, apply, and integrate the content of one’s major

COMMUNICATION
1.
Write articulate, persuasive, and influential reports, proposals, letters
2.
Make articulate, persuasive, and influential oral presentations
3.
Develop graphic, spreadsheet, and financial analysis to support position taken
4.
Engage in active listening in individual and group settings

THINKING: CRITICAL AND CREATIVE
1.
Identify problems and/or opportunities using disciplinary concepts
2.
Generate and evaluate feasible alternatives
3.
Develop comprehensive, justified conclusions and recommendations using qualitative and/or quantitative tools

TECHNOLOGY
1.
Use general & discipline specific software for state-of-the-practice business applications

LEADERSHIP and TEAMWORK
13

1.
Focus on goal achievement
2.
Guide team towards the achievement of common goals
3.
Maintain group cohesion, follower satisfaction, and efficient operations.

ETHICS and VALUES
1.
Display ethical conduct and honor-system behavior
2.
Apply ethics in business decision-making, considering the impact on multiple stakeholders

ATTITUDE AND PRACTICAL EXCELLENCE
1.
Be attentive, proactive and ready to learn
2.
Meet commitments and complete tasks according to assigned requirements
3.
Treat others with respect; show sensitivity to their views, values and customs

EMPLOYABILITY
1.
Show evidence of a quality, mentored, reflective professional experience
2.
Demonstrate effective job search: career portfolio, resume and interview skills
3.
Assume responsibility for one's own career management and goal-setting
14