updated: 12/06/01

Course Description - Business Law I

Welcome to the world of Business Law. Law I is the study of the fundamental principles of law as they apply in the business world. The course examines legal rights and remedies, and contracts, Acceptable for Credit: CSUN: Business Law

Business Law 1 introduces the student to contracts, and contracts for sales under the Uniform Commerical Code. The student will learn business law through related textbook readings, multiple-choice quizes, and research on the Internet/World Wide Web. The end product is a student who understands contracts and who can interpret, analyze, and draft legal and enforceable business law documents.

The format of the course is totally online, which means that your grade will be determined a little differently from what you're probably used to. You will not only be taking tests and quizzes online, but will be "posting" your legal analysis to questions, and preparing various legal contracts and documents. The mechanics of the course, and what you will need to do, are described in detail below.

New Law now requires that a Legal Document Assistant and a Paralegal meet certain required law study - 24 semester units. In Spring 2002, our program will offer a completely online Paralegal Certificate. In the meanwhile, enjoy taking this class online.

This session length is (5 weeks) - from 1/02/02 to 2/02/01 and the online course is designed to give the student familiarity with the substantive law of contracts, including offer, acceptance, consideration, legality, enforceability, breach, damages, and the other essential elements of a contract. A good capsule summary of contract law is found at Emanuel Summaries (Contracts). You will will learn to "think critically" in law, and in the area of contracts. You will learn how to draft a typical "Breach of Contract" lawsuit, and to prepare a comprehensive Contract for Software Development. You will also learn how to do legal research in the area of Business Law and Contracts. You will improve your legal writing skills and legal drafting/writing skills. Finally, you will improve your study skills, and you will improve how you study law.

This course is offered online in order to meet the student's needs for flexibility in time and space. Many college students are working full-time or have transportation limitations due to financial reasons.The course is transferrable to CSU. You should consult with our Counseling Department to determine the exact trasnferability of this class. You may also wish to email a counselor at our college.

Types of activities:

Lectures will be posted under "lectures" on our homepage for this class. The lecture will be both a summary of the reading assignment and a filling-in of the gaps in that assignment. One purpose of the lecture is to answer the question, "What do you really need to know?". It will help the student focus on the major concepts in the textbook.

Textbook : Our textbook for this class is WEST'S BUSINESS LAW by Clarkson, Miller, Jentz, and Cross (Eighth Edition). You can purchase this book in the Campus Bookstore. Here is a description of the 8th Edition, and you can order it online for $103.46.

Threaded discussions ( Bulletin Boards): student participation in asynchronous ("not same time") online discussions will form a significant part of the grade (see grading below). Discussion questions based on text and Website readings will be posted weekly in the Bulletin Board page. Discussions will take place using the Bulletin Board.

Online Quizzes: The quizzes  will consist of 25 multiple choice questions. The schedule sets forth the date for each quiz. The student is to submit (by email) their answers to each quiz. Prof. Jordan will email the correct answers and explanations for each quiz. If a student does not agree with a particular answer they are required to submit their legal reasoning, and the page in the book which supports their reasoning, and Prof. Jordan will adjudicate each "appealed" question/answer.

Since these quizzes are online with no time limit other than a deadline for submission, they are equivalent to a take-home test. Thus, the questions will probe a deeper understanding of the concepts, which requires critical thinking and an intellectual tying-together of the reading material..

Legal Documents: These will consist of a "Breach of Contract" lawsuit, and a Contract for Software Development.

Course Evaluation:

The final grade will be determined by the total points. Each quiz is worth 100 points, each posting is worth 100 points, each contract is worth 100 points, and the final Software Contract is worth 400 points. Grades are given on the following scale" A = 90-100, B= 80-90, C = 70-80, D = 60-70, F = 0-59

Required Resources:

System requirements: IBM or compatible (486/33 CPU minimum) with Windows or Mac or compatible with 6.05 operating system or higher, 8 megs of RAM, 20 smegs free hard disc space, modem with a 9600 baud rate minimum.