Titular Professors
Professors
At the end of this course, students are expected to obtain the following skills:
a) Knowledge of the terminology and basic legal concepts of Spanish Law and European Union Law, both written and oral.
b) Ability to use specific research methods and tools within the framework of an independent research project.
c) Knowledge and practice in relation to electronic information sources on Spanish law and European Union law.
d) Ability to communicate effectively the knowledge acquired and the result of research projects, both in written and oral form.
e) Ability to perform group work incorporated in the structure of class presentations.
f) Ability to perform a basic identification task on key legal issues related to commercial activity, and for a better understanding of other courses included in the program.
g) Ability to make business decisions taking into account legal implications.
h) Obtain basic criteria to understand the convenience and provide general evaluations of the advice received by legal professionals.
i) Develop the critical attitudes necessary for "lifelong learning" and sensitivity to the importance of legal and ethical criticism, as well as the ability to confront dominant opinions with constructive criticism.
In order for the student to have a first contact with the basic and necessary legal concepts to understand the legal implications of any type of business, with special focus on Tech & Digital business activities, the content of this course deals with the most relevant areas of the business activity and their most relevant legal implications: from the main relations with the business stakeholders (through the use of corporate structures, commercial contracts and employment agreements), to the protection of the business key assets, including the identification and mitigation strategies of the most relevant legal risks.
Business Law I course is based on the New Learning Context (hereinafter, NLC) and includes several of the methodologies provided by the NLC itself. Among them, the following:
The master classes (MD0): In which the teacher explains content, concepts or solves problems.
Project-based learning (MD6): In which students solve a group project and discover the concepts as they are necessary for the development of the project.
The so-called "flipped classroom" (MD7): In which the teacher anticipates the student the documentation or material that must work before the face-to-face session and in the face-to-face session in the activities based on the contents previously worked.
Peer teaching (MD9): In which the teacher generates a series of questions that the student answers individually and then the different group answers are discussed so that in the end the student will have the answers to the questions with more confidence and trust.
Challenge-based learning (MD11): In which it establishes a pedagogical approach that actively involves the student and that is based on a real problem close to the student's environment that demands a specific solution and is within experiential learning.
Discussion-based learning (MD15): In which the teacher through a mayeutic approach explains the lesson through questions and generates a group debate. In this way, students position themselves in one or another position through the reason and argument and in order to reach their own conclusions.
The global evaluation system of the subject is the following:
1- Class participation: The teacher evaluates the interventions of each of the students, their proactivity, their previous preparation of the lessons as well as the quality of their interventions. This activity will be the 20% of the total grade.
2- Individual Project: At the beginning of the course, the professor will provide the students with a practical case study describing a series of legally relevant facts, together with various questions or issues that the student must answer and solve in writing using the concepts that are explained and assumed in each of the lessons. As the sessions go by, the professor will complete the case with new facts and new questions and issues related to the concepts that are successively explained in each of the sessions. Finally, in week 15, the student must hand in written answers to all the questions that have been asked to the practical case study. This project will be the 20% of the total grade.
3- Continuous evaluation: Throughout the sessions, the teacher will carry out various activities such as debates, questionnaires, tests, "kahoots", case studies, and similar tasks, following the methodologies described in the previous section. On some occasions such activities will be done individually, and on others collectively or in groups. This task will comprise 15% of the total grade.
4- In-class presentations o At the beginning of the semester students will be divided into 6 groups of 4-5 persons each. During the course students must prepare a 15 minutes Power Point presentation on any subject related to legal risks or implications of a Company or a project involving emerging Technology or Digital business activities. This assignment will be the 20% of the total grade.
All cases must be approved in advance by the professor in order to avoid duplication. Approval will be granted on a "first come, first served" basis.
All presentations will take place during class on Week 15, and Q&A will follow each presentation. The professor will randomly choose a member of each group to perform the presentation, and the total grade of the presentation will be joint and several for all the member students of the corresponding group.
In those 15 minutes the student must answer the following questions:
a) Introduction: What are the business model and technologies involved in this Company or Project? Provide a brief summary.
b) Discussion: Provide a clear analysis of the relevant areas of legal risk associated to the Company or Project.
c) Conclusion: Which are the potential negative effects for the Company or Project arising from such legal risks and how they are envisaged to be mitigated.
d) Bibliography: Use reliable sources of information to fully research your case (corporate information available to the market, courts or authorities decisions, among others)
e) Word count: There is no required word count for this assignment.
5- Final exam: Final exam is closed book, time constrained, written exam. No dictionaries, textbooks or other aids are permitted during the exam. This exam is aimed primarily at testing the student ability to recall information and knowledge learned in class including definitions, general principles and key concepts. The Final exam will be the 25% of the total grade.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
MILLER, EDWIN L.: Lifecycle of a Technology Company: Step by Step Legal Background and Practical Guide from Startup to Sale, John Wiley & Sons Ed (2008).
MUÑOZ PÉREZ, A.F.; SERRANO ACITORES, A.; MARTÍNEZ ROSADO, J., Handbook of Spanish Business Law, Biblioteca Universitaria de Editorial Tecnos, 2nd Edition (2018)
RECOMMENDED REFERENCES
LUCY JONES, Introduction to Business Law. Oxford University Press. Fifth edition (2019).
ROBERT W. EMERSON, Business Law. Barron's Educational Series, Business Review Books. Sixth edition (2015).
EWAN MACLNTYRE, Business Law. Pearson Education Ltd. Eighth edition (2016).
ERIC BASKIND, OSBORNE GREG & ROACH LEE, Commercial Law, Oxford University Press (2016).
H.R. CHEESEMAN & PRENTICE HALL, Business Law: Legal Environment, online commerce, business ethics and international issues. Eighth edition (2013).
RYDER NICHOLAS, MARGARET GRIFFITHS & LACHME SINGH, Commercial Law: Principles and Policy, Cambridge University Press (2012).
ASHCROFT & PATTERSON, Law for Business, Cengage Advantatge Books. Nineteenth edition (2017)
SÁNCHEZ CALERO, FERNANDO, Principios de Derecho Mercantil. Thomson Reuters Aranzadi. Twenty-fourth edition (2019)
LANDY, GENE K., The IT/Digital Legal Companion: a comprehensive business guide to software, IT, Internet, Media and IP Law, Syngress Ed. (2008)
DAMIAN CHALMERS , GARETH DAVIES & GIORGIO MONTI, European Union Law, Cambridge University Press. Fourth edition (2015).
ALONSO IBÁÑEZ, MARÍA DEL ROSARIO, Derecho de los consumidores y usuarios, Tirant lo Blanch. Third edition (2016).
URÍA, RODRIGO - MENÉNDEZ, AURELIO: Lecciones de Derecho Mercantil. Civitas Ediciones, S.L. Ninth edition (2009).
MARTÍNEZ PÉREZ, ENRIQUE JESÚS & SALINAS ALCEGA, SERGIO (coords.), Lecciones para el estudio del Derecho de la Unión Europea, Prensa de la Universidad de Zaragoza. First edition (2019).
DÍEZ-PICAZO, LUÍS, Sistema de derecho civil, Tecnos. Twelfth edition (2018).