The bible of the business law world : West's Business Law
Written: Jan 09 '05 (Updated Jan 09 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great, well organized book, with lots of practical knowledge
Cons: A lot of reading, especially for a short class.
The Bottom Line: Great application of law to real life court cases and business applications. Well detailed and easy to read and understand.
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| biscuitfarmer's Full Review: West Business Law With the Online Research Guide B... |
During the 6 years that I have been in college, I have had to take a great deal of classes, that really haven't helped me all that much. I have taken some of these classes for fun, others just because. One of the best classes, that I ever took for fun, was Business Law and of course the follow-up, Advanced Business Law. These classes have provided me with such a great background on law, that I find myself much more aware of the world around me and the contracts that I get myself into.
Concept
West's Business Law takes standard business legal jargon, and mixes it with actual law in practice to make a very interesting legal textbook. Throughout the book, there are actual court cases that are described in good detail, that have to do with the topic within that chapter or section. These cases help to illustrate what can happen and how law is developed over time.
Also included are actual business plans, contracts, etc for some of the largest companies in the world. They discuss the different aspects of the contracts and business plans to bring full understanding as to why certain things were included and why they weren't. They also talk about what should have been added or what should have been omitted to make them even better.
Unit 1 - The Legal Environment of Business 1
This chapter is the basic introduction to business law. How the court system works, why they do the things that they do. Different policies, legal terms, and of course the constitution are also discussed. They go into concepts beyond the courtroom for resolution of disputes.
Very well laid out introduction that brings to point how the legal system works and why it exists. Other items that are discussed are criminal law and procedures, cyberlaw, and intellectual property, as well as the different types of liability: strict and product.
Very great detail, very easy to understand and has a great flow. They include some great case histories about Federal Express and their lawsuit against Federal Espresso, in which Federal Express claimed trademark infringement and claims of dilution (term used to describe infringement of trademark when the product or company isn't in competition and the name couldn't be easily mistaken for the other) of the distinctive quality of it's trademark. The court, obviously decided that Federal Espresso and Federal Express while their customers did overlap, ultimately, their use of the Federal Espresso name wouldn't end in dilution of the Federal Express trademark.
Unit 2 - Contracts
Excellent chapter going into different types of contracts, whether they be written, oral, whatever. Covers legality of contracts, third party rights, statute of frauds, breach of contract and remedies.
Easily lays out the different aspects of a contract from from agreement (offer and acceptance) to consideration (something of value received or promised) to contractual capacity to legality. Talks about what you are to do if you encounter a breech of contract situation and how the law views the breech. It also talks about the rights of both parties and what would be needed to prove or disprove a breech of contract suit.
Unit 3 - Domestic and International Sales and Lease Contracts
Pretty much the same details as in Unit 2, however, this covers sales and lease contracts specifically. Talks about the different things that could happen within the contract, how someone can default on the contract, and what you can do to resolve the issues, using the court system and the original contract.
Section includes a full sales contract from Starbucks for the sale of green coffee. This contract goes into great detail about the different aspects of the contract, why everything was needed, and what to expect in other contracts of the same nature.
Unit 4 - Negotiable Instruments
Negotiable instruments, include checks, or anything that is a contract saying that you are going to pay someone at a certain specified time. While checks are the most popular form, there are also Certificates of Deposits, drafts, and notes.
Talks quite a bit about promissory notes, which are used by loan companies, when you purchase pretty much anything. That is basically your promise to pay a certain amount, over a certain period of time, and with a certain amount of interest.
The book goes into detail describing what makes an item negotiable, such as a signature, payable amount in money, a definitive time of payment, etc.
Unit 5 - Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy
Discusses, obviously the rights of creditors and bankruptcy laws. Different remedies for creditors during a bankruptcy trial and the rights of the consumer. Lots of information regarding the laws, creation of bankruptcy paperwork, filing, and the court system and it's reaction to the bankruptcy.
Unit 6 - Agency
Discusses the relationship between two parties, the agent and the principal, in which the principal agrees to allow the agent to represent them. While the principal has complete control over what the agent does during representation, the agent acts on their behalf. Examples of such a setup, would be a stockbroker, insurance agent, travel agent, pretty much anything with agent on the end of it. They are acting on your behalf to purchase stocks, to buy/sell property, to buy tickets/hotel accommodations, whatever their focus, they are representing you.
The book talks about these different relationships with agents and what sort of remedies exist when they breech your contract or when they misrepresent you. They also talk about the rights of the agent. Discusses what happens if an agent was to knowingly commit a crime while representing you.
This section of the book has a lot to do with the Martha Stewart case. Stewart's stock broker, was her agent, and while she directed him of what to do with the stock, it was his responsibility to inform her of the legalities of that move. While I do not know what happened to Stewart's stockbroker, he too should have served jail time, unless the courts couldn't prove beyond a doubt that he was involved in the insider trade and was completely unaware of the company's position.
Unit 7 - Business Organizations
Great chapter about the different types of business from sole proprietors, to corporations, limited liability companies, etc. Talks about the benefits and drawbacks of each type of company and how to decide which one is the best for each situation. Also talks somewhat about franchises, investors, company officers, etc.
Very good chapter, that goes into great detail about how everything works within different types of companies. Talks about who is in charge, what types of jobs are within each type of company, and how they are ultimately operated and just how efficiently can they be run.
Unit 8 - Labor and Employment Relations
Huge area of business law right now. Covers the different rights of employees within a company and discrimination within companies. Discusses different methods in which companies are avoiding legal action against them by creating training and sensitivity screening to avoid those that may become an issue within their organization.
Lots of helpful details for anyone in the business world on what to do in order to create a more peaceful work environment that is employee friendly and respects the rights of those that work under you. Lots of information about a wide variety of employment and welfare concepts.
Unit 9 - Government Regulation
Goes into detail about the large variety of government actions that are taken in order to protect consumers and smaller businesses from corporations. With anti-trust laws that prevent companies from becoming too large and forming monopolies (Microsoft Anti-Trust suit), to administrative law, and consumer and environmental law. Things like OSHA, the Occupational and Safety Health Administration, who determines safety within a workplace, minor work hours, and overall hours of work with or without breaks and lunches. They are in place in order to protect employees and regulate businesses through regular visits.
Other areas of this unit talk about how the government can regulate things such as interest rates in order to control the economy and thus business.
Very well written chapter, has a lot of information about all of the laws and regulations that the government uses in order to protect our environment through things such as the Environmental Protection Act, which has restrictions on pollution limits into water sources and into the air from manufacturers.
Unit 10 - Property
Book talks about all areas of property, from personal property to business property and the laws that apply to all of it.
Has great information about laws of possession and has some sample court cases that have involved personal property situations, generally amongst married couples going through divorce. With divorce, personal property is mutual and has to be separated into individual property.
Unit 11 - Special Topics
Discusses insurance, wills, trusts, liability of accountants and professionals such as lawyers, and laws to protect entrepreneurs.
If you don't know what is required of your accountant, this is a great resource. Discusses what you as a consumer have the right to expect out of those that you hire and what they are supposed to provide for you as such. Has different remedies for a breach of contract by these professionals, such as malpractice suits for a Cosmetic Surgeon that did a horrible job during a face lift and made it look worse than before. As beauty is an intangible item, there are different laws and regulations discussed that talk about resolution of the grievances for a situation such as that.
CD Resource
Along with the book comes a CD resource, that shows different links around the internet, that go into greater detail about different laws. While the CD doesn't really help with the book at all, it does help to give a somewhat different perspective on laws in action.
Overview
Extremely well laid out book that covers, virtually every aspect of business to some degree, within it's 1033 pages. While it doesn't cover all of the law, it serves as a basis for what the major concepts of the law are.
Has a lot of great resources from real businesses that illustrate how law works in real life and how it can be applied to individual businesses no matter how large.
Useful Appendix in the back, provides a more detailed explanation of the different laws and articles about different laws. Definitely a useful resource for anyone looking to study law.
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Recommended:
Yes
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