In his classic book The Common Law, the father of legal realism Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. famously said, “The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” In summary, the Common Law refers to a body of judge-made rules, doctrines, and legal principles. Among other things, this vast and complex body of rules, doctrines, and principles comprises three important areas of private law that are especially relevant to business firms, including Torts, Contracts, and Property. The Law of Contracts, for example, defines which promises are legally-enforceable, and the Law of Torts imposes various legal duties on individuals and firms, while the Law of Property establishes what rights owners have and how ownership rights can be created in the first place. Module 3 is thus devoted to these great areas of our Common Law, and for the benefit of my fall business law students, below are links to several short blog posts describing the contents of Module 3 of our legal and ethical environment of business course:
- Introduction: Overview of the Common Law
- Property: The Case of the Saucy Intruder
- Contracts: Pepsi versus Joe Exotic
- Torts: Tiger King and Cattle Trespass
- Bonus Section on Illegal and Immoral Agreements: Illicit Promises of the Rich & Famous
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