LEGL 4400-Business Law
Dr. Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander
dawndba@uga.edu
University of Georgia Terry College of Business
Hi! This is the home page for LEGL 4400 (as if the page title didn't tell you that...). Make sure you keep up with the page, as it will change frequently, and you are held responsible for anything posted. But it's not all work and no play. I've included the Fun Links page for you, purely for your enjoyment and horizon expansion. Have fun, enjoy the class, and give me any feedback you think would be helpful.
Dr. B-A's LEGL 4400Web Site Contents
If you want to
see the Fall
2012 syllabus click here.
If you want to
see the tentative
schedule of coverage, click here.
If you want to
see the poems
read in class, click here.
If you want to go back to LEGL 4400 contents, click here.
If you want to go back to Dr. B-A's home page contents, click here.
University of Georgia Terry College of Business
LEGL 4400 - BUSINESS LAW
Dr. Bennett-Alexander (Dr. B-A)
Fall 2012 (Tu. 8/14/12)
11:00 Caldwell 204
Syllabus
Quick Finder:
OBJECTIVE: To familiarize students with several of the business related aspects of the law, including negotiable instruments, secured transactions and agency and partnerships.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Smith
& Roberson, Business Law 14th ed., 2009, or 15th edition
2012, South-Western/Cengage Learning, Pub. There is an e-version and
there are other less expensive versions of the text (such as by
chapters). There is no significant difference in the two, so do whatever
fits your budget. I will make sure that the chapter-end questions are
responsible for are in either version you use.
Check the book's website or others, for options. You can also check out
CourseSmart.com for e-alternatives. http://www.coursesmart.com I will also post PowerPoint slides for each
chapter to eLC, which I suggest you print out in the format that leaves rooms
for notes on the side. Students find it
extremely helpful when taking notes in class.
CLASS TIME: 11:00-12:15 
OFFICE & HOURS: 202 Brooks Hall. T, Th 7:00-7:45 a.m 12:20-1:30 and by appointment. Call (706) 338-2293 for scheduling.
TESTING & GRADING:
Grading: The course grade is determined by adding together test scores and any extra credit points, then dividing by four. Since each exam is equally weighted, it is best to maximize performance on each one. Since extras credit points count as full points, it is best to take advantage of every opportunity to gain extra points. For all purposes, and unless notified otherwise, the grading scale is 100-94 A, 93-90 A-, 89-87 B+, 86-84 B, 83-80 B-, 79-77 C+, 76-74 C, 73-70 C-, 69-65 D, 64 and below, F.
Exams: There will be four examinations during the quarter, including the final. Each exam is equally weighted. Make-up exams are generally not given. Exam scores are not posted. Rather, exams are returned in class, generally by the next or the second class after the exam. Exam dates are Th. 9/13; Th. 10/18; Th 11/15 and the final exam is Tu. 12/11 from 12-3.
Extra Credit: During the first day of class I will pass out a sheet on which students can sign up to do an extra-credit oral presentation on an article on any topic. The article may be from any source, including YouTube, as long as the information is current and relates in a meaningful way to contracts. The presentation is to be no longer than five minutes and is worth three points. Submit to me a copy of the article you presented.
If you are unable to present on the day you are scheduled to do so, because of an unavoidable issue, make sure to let me know. If you are absent without notifying me on the day of your presentation, the 3 points are deducted from your class points.
If you were unable to sign up on the article list because it was full but you want the extra credit points, you may submit a copy of the article along with a single-spaced typed summary of the salient points of the article. This is due by the last day of class. No submissions after the last class. Period.
Unannounced quizzes MAY be given from time to time as a means of testing student knowledge and providing an opportunity for additional points. Quizzes are generally worth ten points, and I don't generally give more than two per quarter, if that many. Quizzes are based on class performance and perceived need by the professor. There are no guarantees, so do not count on quiz points.
Attendance: I take roll every day after drop/add. Make sure to sign it in class, as I have no satisfactory way of knowing if you were really here if you forget and try to prove it later (friends can give you notes and/or swear you were there...). Having someone sign the roll for you in your absence will result in ten points being deducted from your class points for both you, as well as whoever signed for you. You are allowed two unexcused absences, but after that 3 points will be deducted from your final grade for each absence over 2. Be in class. You will thank me for the policy when it’s test time or when you take the CPA. J
MISCELLANEOUS:
Doing Well: Since many of you will be taking the CPA exam, you really should start prepping now with this class. Students have said that it greatly improves performance if they come to class prepared. I have had a great success rate for the Contracts portion with my students who took the CPA exam. Preparation includes reading the chapters and answering the chapter-end questions. After finishing each chapter, the chapter-end questions will be discussed. It is expected that you have gone over the questions and analyzed them in depth and are prepared to answer them when called upon in class. Failure to do so can result in loss of points. Analyzing fact patterns is not only enormously helpful for the CPA exam, but also for teaching you how to think and analyze in life. You will NOT be able to get the benefit from only letting your classmates do the work. Each person called upon should be prepared to answer any question asked. I don’t mind wrong answers. I do mind—very much—lack of effort.
E-Mail, the Web, and the listserv: Students are required to have a gmail account with their photo attached and to subscribe to the class listserv. The gmail accounts are free and can be set up in minutes. If you don't already have one, you should. It's free and you have virtually unlimited space as well as the ability to search your emails like you conduct a Google search. You can even keep your old email address and just forward everything to your gmail account the way I do with my dawndba@uga.edu account. You can even make it seem like you are answering from the old account! It's the bomb. Make sure you set the picture (under settings) so that it can be seen by not just whoever you are chatting with, but by me also.
You are required to join the listserv and to remove yourself after the course is over. You must sign up for the listserv by 8/24. I automatically receive a notice when you have signed up. For each day after the deadline (including weekends) you will have one point deducted if you have not signed onto the listserv.
Sign up to the listserv by sending an email to listserv@listserv.uga.edu. Make the subject of the email
subscribe 4400DBA Your Name .
You can also put this in the body of the email. Notice there is no space between 4400 and DBA and there is a space between the A and your name. You know how computers are. I can’t tell you the number of students who can’t get on the listserv because they have done something like left out or put in a space or some other tiny thing. Don’t let that happen to you.
If you have trouble signing on, it is usually that you have not entered something correctly, so check it. Common mistakes are putting an e on the end of listserv, putting a space between the 4400 and the DBA, or not capitalizing DBA. You can also get on by going to the UGA listserv website (listserv.uga.edu) and scrolling down to the listserv name 4400DBA and going from there.
Within minutes of sending the subscription request, you should receive an email from the listserv folks saying you requested to be signed up, but you are not actually signed onto the listserv until you respond to this email to confirm subscribing to the listserv. If you do not do it within 24 hours, they drop your subscription request and you have to submit it again.
At the end of the semester after class is over, please don't forget to
sign off of the listserv. To do so,
send an e-mail to:
listserv@listserv.uga.edu
(NOTE: This is not a hot link. You must send the e-mail on your own)
Make the text of the e-mail ONLY the following:
unsubscribe 4400DBA
You can also get off by going to the listserv
website (again, listserv.uga.edu), finding the class listserv on the list and
following directions.
Please do not
e-mail me asking me to take you off the listserv. You must do it
yourself, just as you put yourself on. If you don’t take yourself off, you will
continue to receive annoying emails from me.
J
As you
can see, I maintain a Web site for the class at http://www.terry.uga.edu/~dawndba/,
which will also have all class information posted. Of course, if you're looking
at this on my Web site, you are already in the know. :-) Watch for
changes.
Absences: I take roll every day, and you should be there. I understand that life happens, but I do not like you missing class. If you are absent more than twice, 3 points are deducted from your final grade for each absence over the limit. Come to class!
Rescheduling exams: Exams must be given when taken, and there are no makeups.
Important Dates:
Tu 8/14 - First day of class
Th 8/24 - Deadline to sign up for listserv - midnight
Th 9/13 - Exam 1
Th 10/18 - Exam 2
Th 11/15 - Exam 3
Tu 11/20 - Thanksgiving Break, NO
CLASS
Th 11/22 - Thanksgiving Break, NO
CLASS
Th 11/29 - Last day of class
Tu 12/4 - Treat as a Friday schedule. NO
CLASS
Tu 12/11 - Final Exam 12-3 this classroom
The use of computers in class: In an effort to allow you to use the
e-version of the text chapters, I do not mind the use of computers in class for
MY class work. However, please do not make me take that
privilege away by abusing it. If I find
you doing anything other than my class work, not only will you be counted absent for the day,
but you will no longer have the privilege of using your computer in class. I am hereby giving you fair warning and this
serves as personal notice to you that you will not be allowed the privilege of
using a computer in class if you do anything other than my class work. Not hearing me say no using computers, phones
or other distracting technology in class for non-class work is not an
excuse. You are held responsible for
anything on this Web page. If caught, there is
no grace period. No first time is a
warning. You lose the privilege first
time out. Period.
Recording: Lectures may not be
recorded without my permission. Also, you do NOT have my permission to
use notes from my lectures for commercial lecture note purposes. Also, NO
TEXTING IN CLASS. If you are
found texting in class, you will be marked absent for the day. Period.
Recommendations: Students often ask me to write recommendations for them. I don't mind doing it if I know you well enough to do so. In order to help me make the recommendation more than a general one, I need information from you. If you wish to have me write a recommendation, give me the following:
* the latest copy of your transcript
* your phone number and e-mail address
* explicit instructions as to where and to whom the recommendation should be sent
* the deadline for the recommendation
* any necessary forms I need from the place needing the recommendation
* a brief, but full typed essay from you telling
me things about yourself, your family, your goals, ambitions, and motivations,
that might be helpful in painting a picture of you that you may think is
inappropriate for you to do yourself. The information could include such things
as obstacles you have had to overcome to go to school, particular family
circumstances that may make you unique, etc. I don't want the essay you write
for the application, and I don't want a recitation of your grades. I want
something that makes you more than a one-dimensional person.
* a draft recommendation as if I wrote it. Keep in mind that I am a
professional, so do not make it sound casual or like your friend wrote it.
Make sure you give me enough time to work on the recommendation. The longer the better. If it is brought to me at the last minute, you run the risk of me turning you down, or your recommendation being late.
Students
will be responsible for all my Web postings.
All matters of academic dishonesty will be
handled through the student judiciary. Don't cheat.
To see the UGA policies on academic dishonesty,
click here.
If you want to go back to LEGL 4400 contents, click here.
If you want to go back to Dr. B-A's home page contents, click here.
University of Georgia Terry College of Business
LEGL 4400 - Business Law
Dr. Bennett-Alexander (Dr. B-A)
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF COVERAGE
We will be covering the
chapters in the following order. Be
prepared to cover about two chapters per week.
Make sure you have read the chapters and prepared the chapter-end questions
for class discussion.
Part 2
Contracts
Chapter 9 – Introduction to Contracts
Chapter 10 – Mutual Assent
Chapter 11 – Conduct Invalidating Assent
Chapter 12 – Consideration
Chapter 13 – Illegal Bargains
Chapter 14 – Contractual Capacity
Chapter 15 – Contracts in Writing
Chapter 16 – Third Parties to Contracts
Chapter 17 – Performance, Breach and Discharge
Chapter 18 – Contract Remedies
Part 4 Sales
Chapter 21 – Introduction to Sales and Leases
Chapter 22 – Performance
Chapter 23 – Transfer of Title and Risk of Loss
Chapter 24 – Product Liability: Warranties and
Strict Liability in Tort
Chapter 25 – Sales Remedies
Part 5
Negotiable Instruments
Chapter 26 – Form and Content
Chapter 27 – Transfer
Chapter 28 – Holder in Due Course
Chapter 29 – Liability of Parties
Chapter 30 – Bank Deposits, Collections and Funds
Transfers
Part 8 Debtor
and Creditor Relations
Chapter 38 – Secured Transactions and Suretyship
I reserve the right to modify the syllabus as necessary. Students are held
responsible for all class decisions and discussions which take place in their
absence. Check the class Web page for updates and check with someone in class
for details.
If you want to go back to LEGL 4400 contents, click here.
If you want to go back to Dr. B-A's home page contents, click here.