Categories: Business, Corporate, Commercial Law

Instructor(s)

Davis, Kenneth

Course Data

Room 5240
MW 10:30am-11:50am

Pass/Fail: Yes

Course Description

This is an introductory course that covers basic issues relating to the law of principals and agents and surveys state laws governing the formation and operation of closely held business associations, including partnerships, limited liability companies, and closely held corporations. The course deals with choice of business entity, forming and financing business enterprises, and management rights within such enterprises.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Imagine that three people come into your law office and tell you that they are starting a business together. They ask you to do whatever it takes to get the business legally formed and up and rolling. What do you do?

Business Organizations I prepares you to answer that question, as well as to anticipate and address some of the disputes the participants are likely to encounter down the road.

The course will familiarize you with the rules governing the principal forms of business used today, including partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies; what types of businesses each is best suited for, and why.

Finally, this is a subject in which the formal law is often secondary. The participants are sufficiently few in number that they can bargain for their own arrangement. The law supplies the default rules in the absence of such an arrangement. Accordingly, through classroom discussion and negotiation exercises, students will gain experience in identifying the business considerations their clients should weigh in deciding when the default rules are appropriate for their circumstances and when they should attempt to negotiate alternative terms.

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