Ch1: Legal FoundationsKey Terms- Law—a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, & having legal binding force - Jurisprudence—the science & philosophy of law that defines various approaches to the appropriate function of law and how legal doctrines should be developed & applied- Counsel—another name for an attorney- Black’s Law Dictionary—the leading legal dictionary- Constitutional Law—the body of law interpreting state & federal constitutions - Statutory Law—the body of law created by the legislature & approved by the executive branch of state & federal governments- Common Law—law that has not been passed by the legislature, but rather is made by the courts & is based on the fundamentals of previous cases w/ similar facts - Administrative Law—law made by government administrative agencies - Ordinances—local statutes passed by local legislatures - Statutory Scheme—the structure of a statute & the format of its mandates - Legislative history—the records kept by the legislature including the debates, committee and conference reports, & legislative findings of fact usedwhen creating a law, which can be used to show the legislature’s intent - Citation—the special format used by the legal community to express where a statute or case law can be found- Precedent—when courts apply the law of a previous case to current cases w/similar facts- Remedies—judicial actions, which can be monetary or equitable, taken by courts that are intended to compensate an injured party in a civil lawsuit - Equitable Relief—a type of remedy, including injunctions & restraining orders, that is designed to compensate a party when money alone will not do,but instead forces the other party to do (or not do) something- Equitable Maxims—Common laws rules that guide courts in deciding cases &controversies & are intended to be broad statements of rules based on notions of fairness & justice- Doctrine of Stare Decisis—the principle that similar cases w/ similar facts under similar circumstances should have a similar outcome - Case Precedent—the opinion of an appellate court, which is binding on all trial courts from that point in time onward so that any similar case would be decided according to the precedent - Secondary Sources—sources of law that have no independent authority or legally binding effect, but can be used to illustrate a point or clarify a legal issue- Restatements of the Law—a collection of uniform legal principles focused in aparticular are of the law, which contains statements of common law legal principles & rules in a given area of law- Model State Statutes—statutes drafted by legal experts to be used as a model for state legislatures to adopt in their individual jurisdictions in order to increase the level of uniformity & fairness across courts in all states - Civil Laws—laws designed to compensate parties for money lost as a result of another’s conduct- Damages—money lost as a result of another’s conduct- Criminal Laws—laws designed to protect society, which results in penalties to the violator such as fines or imprisonment - Substantive Laws—laws that provide individuals w/ rights & create certain duties - Procedural Laws—laws that provide a structure & set out rules for pursuing substantive rights - Public Laws—laws derived from a government entity- Private Laws—laws recognized as binding between 2 parties even though no specific statute or regulation provides for the rights of the parties Concept SummaryPrimary:- Primary sources of law include constitutional law, statutory law, administrative law, & common law at both the federal & state levels- Constitutions have 2 primary functions: 1) to prescribe the basic structure & powers of a particular government body and 2) to protect certain rights of individuals & businesses from government encroachment- Statutory law is created by a legislative body & approved or disapproved by the executive branch- When interpreting statutes, courts often look to 2 sources for guidance: 1) the structure of the statue itself, called the statutory scheme, and 2) the records of the legislative history behind the statute - The official publication of federal statutory law is in the United States Code (U.S.C.)- Common law is law made by appellate courts & is based on the fundamentalsof previous cases that had similar facts- Appellate courts create precedent & under the doctrine of stare decisis, lower courts apply the precedent to new cases w/ similar facts- Administrative law is the source of law that regulates the exercise of authority by administrative agencies- Pursuant to congressional mandates, administrative agencies are empowered to administer the details of federal statutes & have broad powersto impose regulations, make policy, & enforce the law in their designated are of jurisdictionSecondary:- Secondary sources of law include Restatements of the Law and sets of model statutes such as the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)- Secondary sources have no independent authority, nor are they legally binding- The Restatements of the Law are collections of uniform legal principles in a specific area of law that are designed to reduce the complexity of judicial decisions- Model statutes are drafted by legal experts , in hopes that they will be used or adopted by state legislatures so as to provide uniformity in laws between the states. Solutions of ManagersLegal Decisions in Business: An Analytical ModelProblem: legal decision making by managers is reactionary, uneven, and sometimes uninformedSolution: use a systematic analytical model designed to identify legal issues, and understand those issues as business planning opportunities that enable the management team to add value to the companyStep1: identify potential legal issuesStep2: assess the imminence (level of immediacy) and level of any legal challenge and decide whether to confer w/ counselStep3: analyze the legal implications of the legal challenge using the worst-case scenario & include an estimate of costs including legal fees & courts costs, a losing judgment, & potential draws on human resources required to meet the challengeStep4: evaluate alternatives by developing a list of various approaches that could beused to meet the legal challenge. While considering advantages & disadvantages of alternatives, estimate the costs & potential return on expenditures made to meet thelegal challengeStep5: compare