Law 101

Law 101

Please read the text materials in chapters 1-4. You are reading the text materials for background only.  Then you should read, watch and listen to my presentations included at the bottom of this page: 

1. Introduction to Business Law
2. How to Read a Case
3. The Power of the Judiciary (overview of the judicial system and jurisdiction)

These are intended to introduce you to law in the context of business.  This will provide you comprehensive background to begin to understand how the law informs business analytics.  

There are two big themes here I want you to focus on. First, law is territorial.  What we learn about principally in this class is the law of the United States as it applies to business analytics.  Governments have power based on their geographical boundaries.  This means, for example, that if a company is doing business in the U.S., it must abide by the laws of the U.S. (Federal, state and local laws).  It must also submit to the jurisdiction of the courts and other enforcement authorities in the U.S. 

If that same company decides to expand outside of the U.S. to other countries or regions (e.g. the European Union), then it must abide by the laws of that jurisdiction and submit to its courts and other enforcement authorities.

The second theme is that law is never current with technological innovation.  Law lags behind emerging technologies, whether that is the Internet, cloud computing, or machine learning and artificial intelligence.  Frequently courts in the U.S. are challenged to apply old established law and legal precedents to rapidly evolving technology and business models.  Sometimes it results in fair outcomes. Sometimes it does not, depending on who you ask. 

Both themes are highlighted in the first case you will be reading, Microsoft vs. the U.S Download Microsoft vs. the U.S

. You will also read a critique of that case Download critique of that case

and review an IRAC that I created for you.