Essay Instructions: ASSIGNMENT- Contemporary Issue in Law and Business
BUSINESS LAW ~ BUSI 2301
The Assignment:
Select one specific instance of a legal problem/issue in business that interests you. Do a preliminary search before making your selection to insure that there is a sufficient amount of data available for your study. Make sure that your topic is narrow enough that the study is not overwhelming. For example, the topic ?Enron? or ?World Com? is too broad. A more manageable topic would be ?Enron and the California Energy Crisis?.
Collect at least five sources on your subject. The sources may be articles, statistics, court papers (pleadings, subpoenas, indictments), books etc. NOTE, however, that Wikipedia is not considered a source in this class.
Using the following *guideline, discuss and analyze the problem:
Factual background. Describe the problem or event in detail with verifiable facts. Tell the reader who the players are, their roles, the history, what happened, etc. Take care to distinguish fact from opinion (no opinions should appear in the fact section).
B. The Legal System. Incorporate terms and concepts we have discussed in class whenever possible. What law(s) are applicable? What was the legal problem or issue? What occurred in the legal system? Was there an indictment? (Describe) Was there a Trial? (what court, what evidence, what verdict).What was the evidence? Write this section as though the reader knows no law, and explain each term and step in the process.
The Impact. What was the impact ? Was there an economic impact? Be specific. Do not say ?this hurt the economy?. I want to know how. Give specifics (with hard data to back you up).
Your Analysis. How/why did this happen? What could be done to prevent the problem in the future? Note that you may express an opinion, but it must be an informed opinion supported by your data).
*IMPORTANT NOTE: The above categories are just guidelines to give you an example of the types of things to include and the level of specificity I want to see. You are free to add categories as you see fit. I DO NOT want to see a paper organized with each of the titles set forth above. USE YOUR OWN HEADINGS AND TITLES to make the paper interesting to the reader and to organize your research in the manner you deem most appropriate. I will deduct points if you just spit back the categories and treat this like a take home exam rather than your own original, significant research.
Mechanics
Typed, double spaced, and STAPLED.
Include a works cited page at the end. Use any format you would like, but be consistent.
No set page length. I would think that it would take at least 6 pages to cover the material in depth, but it is up to you.
PRESENTATION
Each student will give a 5 minute presentation of his research to the class. You may use any format you would like (power point, show clips, etc) but you should not just stand and read your paper to the class.
IDEAS FOR TOPICS (just to get you started?you choose any area that interests you but remember to find one specific instance rather than reporting on the broad issue overall)
Products Liability (Firestone Tires, Prescription Drugs, Medical devices )
Environmental (Exxon Valdez, oil spill in gulf)
Securities Fraud, corporate and fiduciary misconduct (Martha Stewart, WorldCom, Enron, Tyco)
Regulatory, Antitrust (cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley [SOX], legislation that impacts business reporting requirements)
Governmental Bailout of Wall Street/Big Business
Credit Card crisis/New Legislation
The Banking Crisis (must address in terms of the legal problem)
Healthcare reform (from a business and legal standpoint, not political)
Employment law and impact on business
Hot intellectual property issues and impact on business
