Courses 2008 - 2009
LAW A515 Business Organizations
Credits: 4
Introduction to the law relating to business enterprises. Compares and analyzes sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and unincorporated associations. Also considers principles of agency in tort and contract that are involved in contracts between business enterprises and the public with which they deal. Specific topics include forms of organization; agency in consensual transactions; partnerships; the corporate form; financial structure of an enterprise; control structure of an enterprise; trading in securities; corporate distributions; and structural changes. (Not open to students who have taken Law A514 Corporations.)
SUMMER 2013 Faith Stevelman, Visiting Professor of Law; Director, UW Program on Law, Business and Entrepreneurship Professor of Law, New York Law School
This Business Organizations course provides an overview of the essential, building-block principles of businesses’ (i) transactions (set- up, voting, dissolution, sale), (ii) governance (managers’ versus principals’ rights) and (iii) finance (the rights attaching to bonds versus stock). No prior knowledge of business or finance is required or presumed. The course focuses on business in the corporate form –both smaller, privately held corporations and larger, publicly traded ones – as a basis for comparing the distinguishing features of LLCs, partnerships and corporations. Rather than either a theoretic focus (for example, on market efficiency or “agency costs”) or a doctrinal focus (“the duty of care provides…”), the course is principally organized around the analysis of trial court decisions containing detailed description of business acts and transactions. Building competence in analyzing the facts, financial incentives and basic statutes governing these transactions – including the court’s rationale in resolving the dispute therein -- is the core work of the course. Practice using the vocabulary of business transacting, and understanding the incentives of the parties, is intended to build students’ preparation for real world business counseling – including the anticipation of litigation. Due consideration is given to national business law standards, as well as those of Washington State. Lessons are organized around extensive student participation rather than lectures. Readings will not be very heavy (on average 45 pages per two hour class), but students will be expected to have completed careful reading and review of the materials prior to meetings. Readings will be made available by the Professor, and posted via the course webpage, rather than in the form of a traditional casebook. Students will be encouraged to purchase a statute book, for ease of reference. The professor will be consistently available both on site and through email to support students’ optimal learning and review. In light of the commitment to class-wide discussion and analysis of business transactions, this course is not ideally suited for students primarily oriented to bar exam prep.
Not offered this academic year.