Seminar - 2 hours. This course will examine corporate responsibility and (un)ethical leadership through case studies of contemporary corporate and public institution controversies and lawsuits. For example, case studies may include the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and financial crisis of 2008; Enron and the collapse of Arthur Anderson; breach of privacy issues involving Facebook; and BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill and resulting litigation. We will review business and corporate forms and consider legal and ethical duties owed to employees, shareholders, and the public. Using case studies, we will study laws implicated when a business engages in illegal or unethical conduct, including violations of laws such as fraud and self-dealing, failure to disclose, discrimination and negligence. We will consider public policy and social responsibility issues as well. The course will explore questions such as: what responsibility, if any, does the corporation have to the public, including customers that purchase products or services, and is there a public trust or duty owed to the public that should guide corporate and institutional behavior.
Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in Law 215 Business Associations
Final Assessment: Group projects for all students and, for students satisfying the writing requirement, a final paper.
Grading Mode: Letter Grading
Graduation Requirements: May satisfy Advanced Writing Requirement with instructor's permission.