Business Law & Bankruptcy

This course is a part of:

Certificate in Paralegal Studies

Associate of Paralegal Studies

Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies

Bachelor of Business Administration

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

This course is designed to provide our students with a basic understanding of the principles of the most significant laws pertaining to business organizations.

The Business Organization Law component of the course will deal with the individual characteristics of various business organizations, including publicly held and closely held corporations, general partnerships, sole proprietorships, limited liability partnerships and limited liability corporations. These various forms of business will be compared and contrasted to determine the advantages and disadvantages of creating and maintaining each form.

Students will become familiar with the laws governing the creation and operation of these various business entities, their dissolutions and liquidations, and their relationships to various categories of creditors and shareholders.

The Bankruptcy component of the course will acquaint our students with an understanding of the three most common forms of bankruptcy under Chapters 7, 11 and 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Although bankruptcy law is primarily relevant to businesses, we will explore the entire spectrum of bankruptcy law, including individual bankruptcies under Chapters 7 and 13, in addition to an overview of the complexities of business bankruptcies under Chapters 7 and 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Certain practical matters to be covered will include the filing of bankruptcy petitions, motion practice in bankruptcy, the role and powers of the bankruptcy trustee, dischargeability of debts, reorganization of businesses, and the analysis and preparations of Statements and Schedules.

Course Learning Outcomes

• Describe the various documents that must be filed with government agencies in order to create various types of businesses.

• Explain the characteristics of various business formations, especially as they relate to tax and liability issues.

• Describe the formation of a corporation, including the certificate of incorporation and corporate bylaws.

• Determine which form of business is most appropriate in a particular situation.

• Describe the various remedies available to shareholders in claims of mismanagement against key personnel of the corporation.

• Describe the basics of mergers, acquisitions and hostile takeovers.

• Describe the procedures through which mergers and hostile takeovers are accomplished and apply some of the laws surrounding those events to hypothetical situations.

• Describe the functioning of the major stock exchanges, such as, the NY Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

• Explain the various types of bankruptcy protection available under federal law.

• Identify the most appropriate type of bankruptcy protection to seek, given an individual’s financial situation.

• Differentiate between the different types of bankruptcy filings, including liquidation bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code and reorganization under Chapters 11 and 13.

• Describe the bankruptcy process, including the various timetables involved.

• Describe and apply the rule of priority of creditors, and determine which debts will most likely have priority over others.