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MASTER SYLLABUS |
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LAW 2300 |
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| Class Hours: 3.0 | Credit Hours: 3.0 | ||||||||
| Laboratory Hours: 0.0 | Date Revised: Spring 02 | ||||||||
| Catalog Course Description: | |||||||||
| Survey of state and federal law affecting the formation, performance, and enforcement of commercial contracts; the Uniform Commercial Code; sales; commercial paper; and bailment. Emphasis on the legal assistant's role in drafting commercial documents. | |||||||||
| Entry Level Standards: | |||||||||
| College-level competencies in logic, reading, and English are required. | |||||||||
| Prerequisites: | |||||||||
| LAW 1000, LAW 1005 | |||||||||
| Corequisite: | |||||||||
| LAW 1060 | |||||||||
| Textbook(s) and Other Reference Materials Basic to the Course: | |||||||||
| Lopez, Victor D., Legal Environment of Business. Prentice-Hall, 1997. | |||||||||
| I. Week/Unit/Topic Basis: | |||||||||
| Week | Topic | ||||||||
| 1 | Introduction to Contracts; Offer and Acceptance | ||||||||
| 2 | Consideration | ||||||||
| 3 | Capacity | ||||||||
| 4 | Genuine Assent; Legality | ||||||||
| 5 | Statute of Frauds | ||||||||
| 6 | Assignment; Third Party Beneficiaries | ||||||||
| 7 | Performance; Breach; Remedies | ||||||||
| 8 | UCC - Article 2 - Sales | ||||||||
| 9 | Performance - Rights and Duties | ||||||||
| 10 | Warranties | ||||||||
| 11 | Remedies for Breach of Sales Contract | ||||||||
| 12 | Commercial Paper - Article 3, UCC | ||||||||
| 13 | Commercial Paper - Transfer and Negotiation | ||||||||
| 14-15 | Secured Transactions - Article 9, UCC | ||||||||
| 16 | Final Examination | ||||||||
| II. Course Objectives*: | |||||||||
| A. | Understand legal principles governing commercial contract formation and enforcement. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| B. | Understand the basic law of commercial paper and secured transactions. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| C. | Collect relevant data and draft initial documents to assist the attorney in commercial cases. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| D. | Continue developing a legal vocabulary. I, II, III, IV, V | ||||||||
| *Roman numerals after course objectives reference goals of the Paralegal Studies program. | |||||||||
| III. Instructional Processes*: | |||||||||
| Students will: | |||||||||
| 1. | Practice elements of the work ethic such as professionalism, preparedness, punctuality, honesty, cooperation, dependability, contribution, effectiveness, good manners, etc. Personal Development Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 2. | Refine reading skills and expand legal vocabularies through completion of weekly guided reading exercises that allows more effective communication with lawyers and legal professionals. Communication Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 3. | Strengthen analytical skills by locating court cases and statutes in the Educational Resources Center and on Westlaw to determine the application of the rules of law to specific facts. Information Literacy Outcome, Problem Solving and Decision Making Outcome, Technological Literacy Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 4. | Examine ethical issues related to legal representation, unauthorized practice of law, confidentiality, duty of legal professional to provide legal services, etc. Personal Development Outcome, Cultural Diversity and Social Adaptation Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 5. | Listen to guest speakers from the legal community to learn the demands for law office computer software skills in the work world. Personal Development Outcome, Transitional Strategy | ||||||||
| 6. | Develop investigative skills using the Internet, library, and governmental agency resources to find relevant information. Problem Solving and Decision Making Outcome, Information Literacy Outcome, Technological Literacy Outcome, Active Learning Strategy | ||||||||
| *Strategies and outcomes listed after instructional processes reference Pellissippi State’s goals for strengthening general education knowledge and skills, connecting coursework to experiences beyond the classroom, and encouraging students to take active and responsible roles in the educational process. | |||||||||
| IV. Expectations for Student Performance*: | |||||||||
| Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to: | |||||||||
| 1. | Demonstrate a complete and thorough understanding of legal ethics. A,B,C,D | ||||||||
| 2. | Identify the elements of a contract. A,C,D | ||||||||
| 3. | Prepare initial drafts of contract clauses. A,C,D | ||||||||
| 4. | Complete and file UCC forms. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 5. | Determine when a holder is a holder in due course. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 6. | Prepare a stop payment order. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 7. | Recognize restrictive endorsements. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 8. | Differentiate negotiable from non-negotiable commercial paper. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 9. | Determine damages for breach of contract. A,D | ||||||||
| 10. | Determine when a contract must be in writing to be enforceable. A,D | ||||||||
| 11. | Recognize when a party lacks the capacity to contract. A,D | ||||||||
| 12. | Determine when purchase money security interest has been created by purchase on credit. B,D | ||||||||
| 13. | Draft a simple security agreement crating a security interest. B,C,D | ||||||||
| 14.
15. |
Determine
the priority of claims to a debtor's collateral which is subject to perfect
or unperfected security interests. B,C,D
Recognize and understand the creation and enforcement of sales warranties. A, C, D |
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| *Letters after performance expectations reference the course objectives listed above. | |||||||||
| V. Evaluation: | |||||||||
| A. Testing Procedures: 50% of grade | |||||||||
| There will be three tests plus a cumulative final examination (50%). These tests will emphasize terminology, basic legal principles, and application of these principles to fact situations. | |||||||||
| B. Laboratory Expectations: 15% of grade | |||||||||
| Students will work in small groups to research an assigned topic and make a class presentation on that topic. (15%) | |||||||||
| C. Field Work: 35% of grade | |||||||||
| Students
will complete several out-of-class skills projects. (35%). These may include:
Legal writing exercises Drafting initial drafts of contracts clauses Developing checklist for drafting contract Completing UCC forms Preparing a stop-payment order Drafting simple security agreement creating security interest |
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| D. Other Evaluation Methods: | |||||||||
| 1.All
tests and papers will be graded for spelling and English usage in addition
to content and format.
2.Students are partially evaluated on the basis of in-class projects requiring use of the stated skills. Class participation is important and will be considered in the final grade. 3.Any student encountering academic difficulty during the term is strongly encouraged to meet with the instructor to discuss options and solutions. |
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| E. Grading Scale: | |||||||||
| A
93-100
B+ 88- 92 B 83- 87 C+ 78- 82 C 73- 77 D 65- 72 F 64 and below |
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| VI. Policies: | |||||||||
| A. Attendance Policy: | |||||||||
| Pellissippi State Technical Community College expects students to attend all scheduled instructional activities. As a minimum, students in all courses must be present for at least 75 percent of their scheduled class and laboratory meetings in order to receive credit for the course. Attendance is absolutely essential to perform well in this course. Absenteeism is recorded, not excused. Twelve (12) hours of absences will result in an automatic F for the course. | |||||||||
| B. Academic Dishonesty: | |||||||||
| Cheating of any type will not be tolerated and will become an automatic zero on that paper or test. Repetition of cheating will result in an F for the final grade. | |||||||||
| C. Other Policies: | |||||||||
| Late papers will not be accepted nor will make-up tests will be given without specific approval of the instructor. | |||||||||