The Law and Your Business
Are you prepared to address legal pitfalls, potential litigation and regulatory hurdles when you formulate strategy and manage operations in your business career?
John Englar, Executive in Residence at Fuqua, doesn't think so, and is offering a series of one-hour seminars designed to alert you to legal issues which will affect your business and provide practical advice on recognizing and managing legal problems.
“I've spent 32 years advising clients like Morgan Stanley and Nortel, mapping corporate strategy in the global textile industry and serving on private and public company boards. Very few business leaders have the background and foresight to see legal problems before they arise and the sophistication to manage them along side the myriad of other factors impacting their businesses. The globalization of today's business world only makes this skill more imperative (and valuable).”
The Law and Your Business seminar series is being sponsored by the Fuqua Center for International Business and Research and the Duke Global Capital Markets Center to offer Fuqua and Duke Law students the insights of a seasoned law practitioner and business executive into these issues. Each course capsule will provide a one-hour introduction to issues in a specific field and practical guides to identifying and managing them in a global environment. This is a non-credit, open enrollment opportunity available to all students of each school.
The first session is Tuesday, January 25, in Classroom B at Fuqua. Seminar subjects and dates are as follows:
January 25 – 4:00 pm You as Employee and as Employer
- Fundamental issues in employment contracts.
- Key issues in your compensation.
- Hiring, firing and promoting---your responsibilities (and risks) as a manager.
- How globalization makes these issues more difficult.
February 1 – 4:00 pm Acquire vs. Ally?
- How do legal issues impact the difficult analysis in choosing an acquisition or one of many forms of alliances?
- How do you evaluate international factors?
February 8 - 10:30 am Business Forms
- How does the form/structure of your business unit impact your ability to carry out strategy?
- And when you need to locate it outside the U.S.?
February 15 - 10:20 am Anti-trust/Competition Laws
- Understanding enough of what the lawyers say to avoid a career ending event!
- Are the risks greater abroad? Just ask Microsoft.
February 22 - 10:30 am Contracts: Enemy or Ally?
- Key issues in negotiating contracts in a global setting – what you must manage and what you can leave to the lawyers.
March 22 – 4:00 pm Intellectual Property: Key Asset in the New Economy
- How to create and exploit forms of intellectual property, and how to protect it from global piracy.
April 5 – 4:00 pm Accessing Capital Sources
- Wading through the due diligence process and documentation jungle.
- Sorting out your responsibilities and risks from the lawyer's job.
April 12 - 10:30 am Taxation and the Global Business
- Your business must be structured and operated to minimize state, Federal and global taxation.
- And the rules keep changing!
April 19 – 4:00 pm Resolving Disputes
- Why you must be vigilant to avoid the litigation quagmire.
- Resolving disputes in the global environment must be a core management skill.
