This teaching note presents an active learning exercise using a clip from the television show "The Office." The exercise centers on a promise to pay for the college education of a group of third graders, raising questions about capacity, consideration, offer, acceptance, statute of frauds, revocations, promissory estoppel, and other key…

For many professors, testing is primarily a tool for assessing the learning of students. However, research into the "testing effect" has established the value of testing also as a learning tool, not just as an assessment tool. This article provides an overview of this research and also of my own experiences in using a variety of testing…

A brief examination of the fashion world reveals a multitude of learning opportunities for the business law curriculum. Fashion Law, a niche legal practice that addresses the broad range of business law concerns facing the fashion industry, has only recently gained a more respected position within legal research, debate, and discourse. This…

This article contributes to the literature supporting the importance of legal knowledge in business and business education by making three underappreciated points about the rule of law as an integral element of business education. First, students need legal knowledge not only because it is necessary for surviving in a competitive business…

Increasing numbers of international students attend American universities. Many study business. This article advocates comparative law examples in an introductory Business Law or Legal Environment course, toward signaling respect and inclusion to international students and fostering in American students critical thinking and a global mindset. The…

Experiential learning plays an important role in teaching business law. This paper builds upon prior research regarding the use of experiential learning activities to teach contract law, by adding the use of generative artificial intelligence to a contract simulation activity. As part of a multi-week, in-class simulation, students used generative…

This article presents an employment negotiation exercise suitable for use in numerous business courses. The exercise has been utilized in a graduate Negotiation and Dispute Resolution course and an undergraduate Employment and Agency Law course. However, due to the broad skills developed and accessible subject matter, it could be used in a variety…

There is a widespread understanding that most business undergraduates will need some exposure to the law to maximize their opportunities to succeed as businesspeople or managers, but the extent of that exposure could easily become overkill if educators lose sight of the fact that these are not law students. However in just over 87% of business…

Though "assessment is an integral part of the learning process," unfortunately, struggles are not uncommon, and for various reasons, some students struggle with specific assessments. So, the question becomes, what should be done about it? Discussions on inclusive educational practices have exploded as a part of a renewed push for greater…

This teaching note illustrates how escape rooms can be utilized as a tool to teach or review business law concepts, encourage student collaboration, and provide an opportunity for gameplay. Escape rooms can be adapted to any topic, made asynchronous, and scaled up to accommodate larger groups. This note also describes the value of incorporating…

For a business law class at any level or format, a field trip to a court is critical to bridge the gap between theory and practice. This article encourages legal studies instructors to utilize field trips to a court as an experiential learning opportunity for business law and legal studies courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for…

Trademarks represent an important driver of firm profitability and brand awareness and, as such, are of growing interest to many business students. This article presents an exercise that can be used to introduce both undergraduate and graduate-level business students to the federal trademark registration process, while providing students with…

This article proposes a mock oral argument exercise that can be used periodically throughout the semester to enliven undergraduate business law classrooms and guide students to higher-ordered learning and deeper understanding: pairing students to argue the two sides of actual court cases that illustrate class topics, with the remainder of the…

Business ethics are moral values and principles that guide the conduct of business toward promotion of the common good. This simple explanation of business ethics belies a deeper and broader understanding of how business ethics evolves. Law and ethics, which some see as distinct fields, are deeply connected and mutually reinforcing. Laws are…

Few principles influence success as fundamentally as truth. Truthfulness is the foundation upon which human relationships are built. Truth is the antecedent to trust, and trust is the antecedent to cooperation. Without truth, sustainable success is impossible in human dealings. This article presents a teaching perspective, that is motivated by the…