Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

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BUS 307 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
Business law plays an integral part in both our personal and professional lives. A solid grasp of essential business law concepts is critical for the successful
navigation of complex and diverse business environments. You will assess relevant legal issues as well as apply the discipline-specific knowledge necessary to
successfully address real-world business situations such as business formation and management, liability issues, and compliance with government and industry
regulations, as well as to effectively communicate issues and facts to peers and professionals.
The final project represents an authentic competency, as you will have the opportunity to present your analysis of the legal and ethical issues involved in three
hypothetical business scenarios as well as to evaluate and make recommendations to avoid such issues in the future.
This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:
• Apply the law regarding business relationships, such as agency law, partnership, and corporate law as strategies for appropriate and effective business
management
• Analyze issues of real and personal property as they pertain to business formation and management
• Determine the legal rights and duties of the parties to commercial paper for their impact on fundamental business operations
• Analyze the rights and duties of the parties in credit transactions, including secured transactions and bankruptcy law, as they apply to fundamental
business operations
• Evaluate the impact of government regulation on business practices for strategic and compliance purposes
Prompt
The final project for this course consists of two milestones and the final project submission. Milestones One and Two take the form of short answers crafted in
memo format from the perspective of a corporate attorney making recommendations to a client. For Case Studies 1 and 2, craft a professional memo for each,
appropriate in format, tone, and content, to send to your clients Fred and Sally, with your preliminary thoughts on the issues within. Your memos should illustrate
the issues and relevant law, apply the facts, and support your conclusions with regard to each issue. Always remember to be clear, kind, and professional in your
communications. The third element, Case Study 3, will be a short, 2–3-page essay in APA format that will require you to independently issue-spot as well as
provide a factual analysis of relevant law and recommendations. You will receive feedback on both milestones and the initial element of Case Study 3. Make any
necessary revisions and then include them all in the final submission, where you will label them as Case Study 1, 2, and 3.
Case Study 1
Fred is well known in his town for his homeopathic cough syrup. After years of encouragement, he has decided to take his miracle cough remedy to market as
“Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup.” While his cough syrup is homeopathic, one of the key ingredients causes a severe reaction when taken in conjunction with aspirin.
Fred plans to make and bottle his cough syrup in an outbuilding on the family farm. His son, Sam, has been raving to the locals about his father’s cough syrup for
years, and the local drug store and grocer have contacted Fred to place orders as a result. Sam also intends to approach several national chains in an effort to
secure supply contracts for Fred’s cough syrup. Fred has asked Sam to assist him with deliveries, as Sam has a van. Fred would like Sam to be involved with the
business as an employee initially, with the option of making him a partial owner at a later time. Fred and his wife Sally have two children, Sam and Lilly. Both live
in cabins on the family farm with their spouses and children. Fred and Sally engage you as their attorney to assist with the formation of the new business,
including determining the appropriate business entity type, management issues, product liability issues, and estate planning for both the business and family
property. After your initial meeting, you identify and research the following issues.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Describe the main types of business entities and their defining characteristics.
II. Apply product liability law and determine what issues are present. How would you advise your client to mitigate those issues?
III. Apply the elements and characteristics of an agency relationship to Sam’s actions. Does Sam’s involvement prior to the business formation, as well as his
anticipated role once the business is formed, create an agency relationship? Why or why not?
IV. Identify potential real property issues based on the location of the business on the family farm. Justify each potential issue.
V. Does the manufacture of Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup on the family farm necessitate a formal transfer of ownership or possessory rights? Defend your response.
VI. Identify potential personal property issues based on the use of Sam’s personal vehicle to deliver the product. Justify each potential issue.
VII.Does the use of Sam’s personal vehicle in the course of business expose Sam or the business to any liability issues? Defend your response.
VIII.Identify potential estate planning issues with regard to the business and the family farm. Justify each potential issue.
IX. What estate planning vehicles are available to Fred and Sally should they desire to transfer ownership in the business and family farm, respectively, to Sam and
Lilly equally? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each?
X. Applying your analysis of the issues above, which type of business entity do you recommend for Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup and why?
Case Study 2
Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup has hit the market and become a huge success with the burgeoning integrative medicine demographic. Per your advice, Fred has
patented his famous concoction and trademarked the Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup name and logo. Demand is so high that Fred and Sally are working full-time on
the business. Their children, Sam and Lilly, and their respective spouses, Jane and Tim, have joined the company full-time as well. In fact, Fred and Sally have
made Sam and Lilly part owners of the business. Fred, Sam, and Tim handle the production, sales, and delivery. Sally and Lilly handle the majority of the
administrative and business management tasks, while Jane acts as the bookkeeper. Sally and Fred are the only authorized signatories on the corporate account.
Sally and Lilly have been hard at work securing a new production facility and distribution chain to accommodate an upcoming contract with a national chain.
After locating a large warehouse on several acres, Sally and Lilly approach their local credit union for a loan. The business has only one business credit card used
to purchase supplies for the production of Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup, and there is a small mortgage outstanding on the family farm. Personal debts of the
individual family members consist of small credit-card balances for Fred, Sally, Sam, and Lilly as well as an auto loan on Sam’s van.
During the commercial loan accounting review process, Sally and Lilly discover that Jane has been siphoning off large amounts of corporate money and “cooking
the books” to hide her actions. Jane has written several checks from the corporate account and forged both Sally’s and Fred’s signatures. Jane has made out all
but one of the forged checks to Don, a local loan shark, in an effort to repay her gambling debts. The check Jane did not deliver to Don was made out to “Cash,”
which she slipped into the collection box at church in an effort to absolve her guilt. The embezzlement was so severe that the family fears that Fred’s Miracle
Cough Syrup is now on the brink of bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Sam’s refusal to enter into an exclusive distribution deal with the local drugstore has enraged Bob,
the owner. Bob has now reverse engineered Fred’s cough syrup recipe and has posted it online in an act of vengeance.
As Fred and Sally tearfully recount the events of the past month, you reassure them that you are on the case, and you begin to ponder the legal issues at hand.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. What legal defenses might Fred and Sally raise with regard to the checks written by Jane to Don? Why do you believe they will be successful or unsuccessful?
II. What legal defenses might Fred and Sally raise with regard to the check written by Jane and delivered to the church? Why do you believe they will be
successful or unsuccessful?
III. What, if any, civil claims do Fred and Sally have against Jane based on her actions? Why do you believe they will be successful or unsuccessful?
IV. Analyze the forms of bankruptcy available to the business in this instance (assume the business entity is the same form as you chose in Case Study 1).
What form is most appropriate and why?
V. Analyze the implications of a potential bankruptcy action on the business assets (assume the business entity is the same form as you chose in Case Study
1). Explain which, if any, are subject to forced sales, liens, or forfeiture.
VI. Analyze the implications, if any, of a potential bankruptcy action by the business on the assets of the individual family members (assume the business entity is
the same form as you chose in Case Study 1). Explain if the assets of business owners are subject to forced sale, liens, or forfeiture.
VII. What legal recourse does Fred have against Bob for infringement of intellectual property rights? Do you believe he will be successful? Why or why not?
Case Study 3
Both Fred’s family and the business have rebounded from their prior issues. Jane sought counseling for her gambling issues and has worked hard to mend her
relationships with the family. Prior to cashing the forged checks from Jane, Don was struck by lightning and experienced a spiritual enlightenment. He willingly
returned the checks to Fred and Sally and promptly joined the Peace Corps. Likewise, when the church found out the donated check was a forgery, it was
immediately returned. Bob’s wife (also Sally’s best friend) found out about Bob’s online sabotage and promptly remedied the situation. Once Fred’s Miracle
Cough Syrup was back on track, the company’s growth was exponential. Featured on a widely viewed talk show starring a prominent doctor, online orders and
demands from big-box chains nationwide skyrocketed. Fred and Sally have been told that now would be an ideal time to take Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup public.
The only distressing issue at hand involves Tammy, a local girl who had been working as a delivery girl for the company. She applied for Jane’s former job as
bookkeeper. Fred and Sally hired Ted, an experienced accountant, instead, and Tammy has filed a claim of sex discrimination against the company and Fred
personally. Fred and Sally are seeking your advice regarding Tammy and the possibility of taking the company public.
Complete a legal analysis of the given facts, including the following elements.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Evaluate three current or potential legal and/or regulatory issues apparent in this fact pattern that might impact a public offering.
II. Determine whether Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup is in compliance with government regulations involving public offerings by analyzing relevant laws and using
the appropriate legal test and facts given.
III. Support your conclusions and provide recommendations to improve compliance and strategies for corporate growth.
Milestones
Milestone One: Case Study 1
In Module Three, you will read Case Study 1 of the final project and respond in “memo” format to the client, addressing the listed critical elements. This
milestone is graded with the Case Study 1 Rubric.
Milestone Two: Case Study 2
In Module Five, you will view the video resource on bankruptcy basics. Then, you will read Case Study 2 of the final project and respond to the client in “memo”
format, addressing the listed critical elements. This milestone is graded with the Case Study 2 Rubric.
Final Submission: Case Studies 1, 2, and 3
In Module Seven, you will read the module resources and then respond to the remaining Case Study 3 critical elements, incorporating your feedback from the
Module Six discussion topic. Submit the case study in a 4-7 page essay. Include rewrites of Milestones One and Two, and submit all three case studies as a final
submission. This submission is graded with the Final Project Rubric.
Final Project Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your three “memos” should be 4-7 pages each, double-spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font, and follow APA 7th edition
format for layout and citations.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Case Study
1: Business
Entities		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers insight into the nuances
of each type of business entity
in relation to one another		 Describes the main types of
business entities and their
defining characteristics		 Describes the main types of
business entities, but does not
describe their defining
characteristics		 Does not describe the main
types of business entities or
their characteristics		 4.8
Case Study
1: Product
Liability		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
cites specific, applicable rules of
law		 Applies product liability law to
determine issues and
recommends mitigating actions		 Applies product liability law,
but does not recommend
mitigating
actions		 Does not apply product liability
law to determine issues		 4.8
Case Study 1:
Agency
Relationsh
ip		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides a thorough, step-by
step analysis with specific
supporting evidence applied to
each element of the relevant
legal test		 Applies elements and
characteristics of an agency
relationship to actions to
determine if an agency
relationship was created and
provides justification		 Applie elements and
characteristics of an agency
relationship to actions, but does
not determine if an agency
relationship was created, or
justification is not logical		 Does not apply elements and
characteristics of an agency
relationship to actions to
determine if an agency
relationship was created		 4.8
Case Study 1:
Real Property		 Meets “Proficient” criteria
and cites specific, applicable
rules of law		 Identifies potential real
property issues based on the
location of the business on the
family farm and provides
justification for each		 Identifies potential real
property issues based on the
location of the business on the
family farm, but does not
provide justification for each		 Does not identify potential
real property issues		 4.8
Case Study 1:
Manufacture		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers insight into the nuances
of real property issues as they
pertain to business		 Determines if the
manufacturing necessitates a
formal transfer of ownership or
possessory rights and defends
response		 Determines if the
manufacturing necessitates a
formal transfer of ownership
or possessory rights, but does
not defend response		 Does not determine if the
manufacturing necessitates a
formal transfer of ownership or
possessory rights		 4.8
Case Study
1: Personal
Property		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
cites specific, applicable rules of
law		 Identifies potential personal
property issues based on the
use of Sam’s personal vehicle to
deliver the product and
provides justification for each		 Identifi s potential personal
property issues based on the
use of Sam’s personal vehicle to
deliver the product, but does
not provide justification for
each		 Does not identify potential
personal property issues		 4.8
Case Study 1:
Liability Issues		 Meets “Proficient” criteria
and
offers insight into the nuances
of personal property issues as
they pertain to business		 Determines if the use of a
personal vehicle exposes Sam
or the business to any liability
issues and defends response		 Determines if the use of a
personal vehicle exposes Sam
or the business to any liability
issues, but does not defend
response		 Does not determine if liability
issues are present		 4.8
Case Study 1:
Estate Planning		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
cites specific, applicable rules of
law		 Identifies potential estate
planning issues and
provides justification for
each		 Identifies potential estate
planning issues, but does
not provide justification
for each		 Does not identify potential
estate
planning issues		 4.8

 

Case Study
1:Transfer
Ownership		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers insight into the
importance of estate planning
issues in business		 Determines estate planning
vehicles available to transfer
ownership equally and provides
advantages and disadvantages
of each		 Determines estate planning
vehicles available to transfer
ownership equally, but does not
provide advantages and
disadvantages of each		 Does not determine estate
planning vehicle available		 4.8
Case Study 1:
Business Entity		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers insight, based on
research, as to why the chosen
type of business entity would
be an appropriate choice for
Fred’s Miracle Cough Syrup		 Applies legal and factual
analysis to form a
recommendation on an
appropriate business entity and
provides rationale		 Applies legal and factual
analysis to form a
recommendation on an
appropriate business entity, but
does not provide rationale		 Does not apply legal and factual
analysis to form a
recommendation		 4.8
Case Study 2:
Legal Defenses		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
is well supported using
appropriate sources		 Determines the legal defenses
with regard to the checks
written by Jane to Don and
explains why defenses would be
successful or unsuccessful		 Determines the legal defenses
with regard to the checks
written by Jane to Don, but
does not explain why defenses
would be successful or
unsuccessful		 Does not determine the legal
defenses with regard to the
checks written by Jane to Don		 4.8
Case Study 2:
Church		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
is well supported with
appropriate sources		 Determines the legal defenses
with regard to the check
written by Jane and delivered to
the church and explains why
defenses would be successful or
unsuccessful		 Determines the legal defenses
with regard to the check
written by Jane and delivered
to the church, but does not
explain why defenses would be
successful or unsuccessful		 Does not determine the legal
defenses with regard to the
check written by Jane and
delivered to the church		 4.8
Case Study 2:
Civil Claims		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides specific supporting
evidence applied to each
element of the relevant legal
test		 Determines civil claims
availableto Fred and Sally
against Jane and evaluates
potential for success of those
claims		 Determines civil claims
available to Fred and Sally
against Jane, but does not
evaluate potential for success		 Does not determine civil claims
available to Fred and Sally
against Jane		 4.8
Case Study 2:
Bankruptcy		 Meets “Proficient” criteria
and offers research to
illustrate why the chosen
types of bankruptcy would
be available based on the
chosen type of business
entity		 Analyzes available forms of
bankruptcy based on the
chosen type of business entity
and determines which form is
most appropriate and why		 Analyzes available forms of
bankruptcy based on the
chosen type of business entity,
but does not determine which
form is most appropriate or
why		 Does not analyze available
forms of bankruptcy based on
the chosen type of business
entity		 4.8
Case Study
2: Business
Assets		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers a nuanced insight into
the relationship between a
bankruptcy action by a
business and business assets		 Analyzes implications of
bankruptcy on business assets
and explains which are subject
to forced sales, liens, or
forfeiture		 Analyzes implications of
bankruptcy on business
assets, but does not explain
which are subject to forced
sales, liens, or forfeiture		 Does not analyze the
implications of bankruptcy on
business assets		 4.8
Case Study 2:
Family Members		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers a nuanced insight into
the relationship between a
bankruptcy action by a business
and personal assets		 Analyzes implications of
bankruptcy on personal assets
of individuals and explains if the
assets are subject to forced
sale, liens, or forfeiture		 Analyzes implications
of bankruptcy on
personal assets of
individuals, but does
not explain if the
assets are subject to
forced sale, liens, or
forfeiture		 Does not analyze implications
of bankruptcy on personal
assets of individuals		 4 . 8

 

Case Study
2:
Intellectual
Property
Righ
ts		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
cites specific, applicable rules of
law		 Determines the legal recourse
Fred has against Bob and
explains why Fred will be
successful or unsuccessful		 Determines the legal recourse
Fred has against Bob, but does
not explain why Fred will be
successful or unsuccessful		 Does not determine the legal
recourse Fred has against Bob		 4.8
Case Study
3:
Regulatory
Issues		 Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
choices are suitable and well
supported		 Accurately evaluates three
current or potential legal
and/or regulatory issues in the
fact pattern that might impact a
public offering		 Evaluates three current or
potential legal and/or
regulatory issues in the fact
pattern that might impact a
public offering, but evaluation
lacks accuracy		 Does not evaluate potential
issues in the fact pattern		 4.8
Case Study 3:
Legal Test		 Meets “Proficient” criteria and
provides specific supporting
evidence applied to each
element of each relevant legal
test		 Accurately determines whether
Fred’s Miracle Cough syrup is in
compliance by analyzing
relevant laws and using the
appropriate legal test and facts
given		 Determines whether Fred’s
Miracle Cough syrup is in
compliance by analyzing
relevant laws and using the
appropriate legal test and facts
given, but determination lacks
accuracy		 Does not determine whether
Fred’s Miracle Cough syrup is in
compliance		 4.8
Case Study 3:
Recommendatio
ns		 Meets “Proficient” criteria
and uses discipline-specific
language to establish
expertise		 Supports conclusions of law
and provides
recommendations to improve
compliance and strategies for
corporate growth		 Supports conclusions of law,
but does not provide
recommendations to improve
compliance and strategies for
corporate growth		 Does not support conclusions
of law or provide
recommendations		 4.8
Articulation
of Response		 Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented in
a professional and easy-to-read
format		 Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization		 Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of
main ideas		 Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas		 4
Earned Total 100%