Legal Environment v. Business Law Courses: A Distinction Without a Difference?

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1722.2011.01089.x
• Date: 01 July 2011
• Author: Susan J. Crain,Carol J. Miller
• Published date: 01 July 2011

Legal Environment v. Business Law

Courses: A Distinction Without a

Difference?

Carol J. Miller

n

and Susan J. Crain

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I. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this article is to provide a content analysis and statistics on

the law-related core course requirements in colleges of business to assist

professors and administrators in making curriculum decisions. The disci-

pline needs a baseline analysis of its core course(s) using a large database,

from which inferences can be drawn concerning the typical name and

characteristics of these courses. Such information has not been easily

attainable when curricular proposals surface because prior articles exam-

ining legal environment and business law core courses were theoretical in

nature or based on small data sets. This article examines the name of

undergraduate law-based course requirements

1

in the business core in 404

universities accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of

r2011 The Authors

Journal of Legal Studies Education r2011 Academy of Legal Studies in Business

149

Journal of Legal Studies Education

Volume 28, Issue 2, 149–206, Summer/Fall 2011

n

Distinguished Professor, MissouriState University. J.D. (1978), M.B.A. (1984), University of

Missouri-Columbia. Miller has taught business law since 1984. She is a member of the Mis-

souri Bar and American Bar Association, and is Vice President of the Academy of Legal

Studies in Business.

nn

Associate Professor of Finance, Missouri State University. Ph.D. in Finance, University of

Oklahoma (1997). Both authors express their appreciation to graduate assistant J. Isaac

Wheeler for his assistance with data collection.

1

For a discussion of graduate legal environmental course requirements, see Donald L. Boren,

An Analysis of Law Courses in the Masters of Business Administration Programs at AACSB Institutions,

11 J. LEGAL STUD.EDUC. 21 (1993); Janine Hiller,Business L aw in the MBA Program: A Survey and

Comparison,23AM.BUS. L.J. 299 (1985); Peggy B. Sherman & Nancy R. Mansfield, The Grad-

uate Legal Environment Course: A Student-Centered Entrepreneurial Approach,19J.LEGAL STUD.

EDUC. 311 (2001).

Business (AACSB)

2

as well as the number of hours and level associated

with the course numbers. For half of those universities,

3

the authors com-

pare the subject matter content of the courses based on catalog descrip-

tions.

4

The course name is statistically compared to the course content to

determine the impact the course name has on the content. Course names

and content are evaluated with respect to whether university size is a dis-

tinguishing factor. In addition, the existence of a law-based undergraduate

major or minor is evaluated to determine how a major/minor affects course

name or content. Finally, comparisons are made between the law core

requirements for accounting majors versus nonaccounting business majors.

As the findings of this study demonstrate, the majority of the law-

related business core courses include ‘‘legal environment’’ in the title,

while ‘‘business law’’ is a less common title. After examining the content of

such courses, the authors conclude that the goal of a legal environment of

business course is to help businesspersons recognize legal issues, prevent

and resolve legal disputes, and function within the parameters of govern-

ment regulations, while business law course are more likely to focus heavily

on contracts, the Uniform Commercial Code and business organizations.

Following this introduction, Part II traces the historical development

of law-related courses in business curricula and the evolution of business

law and legal environment courses. The emergence of a content split

between accounting majors and other business majors is also discussed.

Part III explains the methodology used to statistically identify and analyze

differences between legal environment and business law courses and their

2

The database of 404 U.S. universities with undergraduate degrees in business that had

AACSB accreditation in 2005 was selected so direct comparisons could be made with the

conclusions reached in Carol J. Miller & Susan J. Crain, Law-Based Degree Programs in Business

& Their Departments: What’s in a Name? (A Comprehensive Study of Undergraduate Law-Based De-

grees in AACSB-Accredited Universities),24J.L

EGAL STUD.EDUC. 235 (2007) (herein referred to

as the 2007 Miller/Crain Study); the group of fifty-seven universities with undergraduate

majors and minors identified in the 2007 article was one of three parts to the 202 Subset used

to analyze differences in the catalog descriptions for legal environment versus business law

courses.

3

See infra Part III for a more complete explanation of how the 202 universities were selected

and compared.

4

Data used for statistical analysis of core course names, hours, and course level were collected

between 2006 and 2009; course content information analyzed in the 202 set was collected in

2008–2009; current course descriptions included as textual examples were confirmed in

2010.

150 Vol. 28 / The Journal of Legal Studies Education

content. The next three sections summarize the findings of this study.

Part IV identifies the number of hours of law-based courses required in the

business core and distinguishes the hours required for accounting majors

versus other business majors. It examines whether the core course is

offered at the sophomore level or during another year. This section also

summarizes information on the overall quantity of undergraduate law

course offerings. In Part V, a delineation of the core course names identifies

the prevalence of legal environment courses in contrast to business law

courses or courses with other names. Part VI analyzes the content of the

core course based on catalog course descriptions. This section is sub-

divided to allow (1) statistical content comparisons between legal environ-

ment, business law, and other law-related courses; (2) examination of the

impact of course name, enrollment, and law major/minors on the content of the

core law-based required course; and (3) exploration of course description

comparisons between legal environment and business law courses. The

Conclusion summarizes the findings, offers a prototype course description

for a legal environment course and a business law course, and recom-

mends a teaching approach focusing on recognition and minimization of

legal risks.

II. HISTORY OF LEGAL ENVIRONMENT VERSUS

BUSINESS LAW

The Status of the Law Report of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business

(ALSB) 1999 Task Force chronicles the evolution of the content of law-

related core business courses and the long-running debate over the effi-

cacy of legal environment versus business law courses.

5

Under the lead-

ership of Joseph Wharton in 1881, the Wharton School of Finance and

Commerce required a law course.

6

Christopher Columbus Langdell at

Harvard Law School is credited with the development of the then ‘‘mod-

ern’’ (now classical) theory of contract law as a cornerstone of the ‘‘scientific

basis for legal study.’’

7

He also recognized the importance of law and ethics

5

ALSB Task Force on the Status of the Law in Academic Business Study, The Status of the Law

Report (1999), at 3–4, http://www.ALSB.org (under Role of Law, log-ins required).

6

Id.at3.

7

Id.

2011 / Legal Environment v. Business Law Courses 151