The Legal Environment of Business: A Critical Thinking Approach

For courses in business law and the legal environment of business.

Help readers understand the legal aspect of business by incorporating critical thinking and ethical analysis

The Legal Environment of Business: A Critical Thinking Approach introduces readers to the legal side of business using a clear, well-developed, eight-step critical thinking model. This book uses some of the most significant real-life legal cases to help readers develop their knowledge about the relationship between business and the legal system. Distinguishing itself by emphasizing the critical thinking skills necessary to survive in today’s competitive global business environment, the text also incorporates ethical analysis and considers the impact of values on legal outcomes.

This Eighth Edition has been updated with more current cases, new suggested readings, and new chapters concerning immigration law and the America Invents Act, which significantly impacts patent law. The text further sets itself apart through additional features that connect the law to other disciplines beyond business, introduces a balanced mix of current and classic cases, and presents lists to encourage further reading and exploration of various topics.

Nancy Kubasek is a Professor of Legal Studies at Bowling Green State University, where she teaches the Legal Environment of Business and Environmental Law courses. For eight years she team-taught a freshman honors seminar on critical thinking and values analysis. She has published another undergraduate textbook with Pearson Education, Environmental Law (8th edition, 2012) and more than 75 articles. Professor Kubasek’s articles have appeared in such journals as the American Business Law Journal, the Journal of Legal Studies Education, the Harvard Women’s Law Journal, the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, and the Harvard Journal on Legislation. She received her J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law and her B.A. from Bowling Green State University.

Active in her professional associations, Professor Kubasek has served as president of the TriState Regional Academy of Legal Studies in Business, and president of the national professional association, the Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB). Committed to helping students become excited about legal research, she organized the first Undergraduate Student Paper Competition of the ALSB’s Annual Meeting, an event that now provides an annual opportunity for students to present their original legal research at a national convention. She has also published several articles with students and has received her university’s highest award for faculty–student research.

Bartley A. Brennan is an Emeritus Professor of Legal Studies at Bowling Green State University. He is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University (B.S. International Economics); the College of Law, State University of New York at Buffalo (J.D.); and Memphis State University (M.A. Economics). He was a volunteer in the United States Peace Corps, was employed by the Office of Opinions and Review of the Federal Communications Commission, and worked in the general counsel’s office of a private international corporation. Professor Brennan has received appointments as a visiting associate professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and as a Research Fellow at the Ethics Resource Center, Washington, D.C. He is the author of articles dealing with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended; the business judgment rule; law and economics; and business ethics. He has published numerous articles in such journals as the American Business Law Journal, University of North Carolina Journal of International Law, and the Notre Dame University Journal of Legislation. He is a coauthor of Modern Business Law (3d edition). He has testified on amending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act before the Sub-Committee on International Economics and Finance of the House Commerce, Energy, and Telecommunications Committee.

M. Neil Browne is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Economics, director of IMPACT, an Honors Residential Learning Community Centered around the Principles of Intellectual Discovery and Moral Commitment, and coach of the Mock Trial Team at Bowling Green State University. He received a J.D. from the University of Toledo and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. He is the coauthor of seven books and more than a hundred research articles in professional journals. One of his books, Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking (6th edition), is a leading text in the field of critical thinking. His most recent book, Striving for Excellence in College: Tips for Active Learning, provides learners with practical ideas for expanding the power and effectiveness of their thinking. Professor Browne has been asked by dozens of colleges and universities to aid their faculty in developing critical thinking skills on their respective campuses. He also serves on the editorial board of the Korean Journal of Critical Thinking. In 1989, he was a silver medalist for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education’s National Professor of the Year award. Also, in 1989, he was named the Ohio Professor of the Year. He has won numerous teaching awards on both local and national levels.

I. Introduction to the Law and Legal Environment of Business

1. Critical Thinking and Legal Reasoning

2. Introduction to Law and the Legal Environment of Business

3. The American Legal System

4. Alternative Tools of Dispute Resolution

5. Constitutional Principles

6. White-Collar Crime and the Business Community

7. Ethics, Social Responsibility, and the Business Manager

8. The International Legal Environment of Business

II. Private Law and the Legal Environment of Business

9. The Law of Contracts and Sales I

10. The Law of Contracts and Sales II

11. The Law of Torts

12. Product and Service Liability Law

13. Law of Property: Real and Personal

14. Intellectual Property

15. Agency Law

16. Law and Business Associations I

17. Law and Business Associations II

III. Public Law and the Legal Environment of Business

18. The Law of Administrative Agencies

19. The Employment Relationship and Immigration Laws

20. Laws Governing Labor-Management Relations

21. Employment Discrimination

22. Environmental Law

23. Rules Governing the Issuance and Trading of Securities

24. Antitrust Laws

25. Laws of Debtor-Creditor Relations and Consumer Protection

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