The course will acquaint students with common law and French law relating to enforceable agreements and business entities. It will put those rules in their practical perspective.
The following topics will be covered:
- Formation, interpretation and breach of contract;
- Business entities, corporate personality and corporate officers and shareholders liability.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Understand the difference between civil law and common law
2. Understand the basis of courts cases in France and in the United States
3. Analyze problems relating to contractual dealings, identify relevant legal issues and correctly apply relevant legal principles to suggest an answer.
4. Determine whether corporate or another form of business association is best suited based on an analysis of the various business options.

Students will be required to prepare, in groups of three or four, a legal practice paper.
The paper will be based on a legal problem, related to this course, that students might have encountered in their professional life. The paper will explain the legal problem, the legal discussions and eventually the solution chosen and why.
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Understand the difference between civil law and common law
2. Understand the basis of courts cases in France and in the United States
3. Analyze problems relating to contractual dealings, identify relevant legal issues and correctly apply relevant legal principles to suggest an answer.
4. Determine whether corporate or another form of business association is best suited based on an analysis of the various business options.