教学主旨

15.617介绍包含合约、负债、公司规章、员工雇用及公司等商业法规之基础，并且深入地探讨金融法规，包括：公司合并、收购的法律相关层面、国内与国际金融市场及证券市场、风险资本（另译为：创业投资）和私人股权、公司财务结构和其它商业体、反托拉斯（独占市场）法、破产、重整、理财服务提供者的规章、与创新金融商品及服务有关联的控管和责任风险。

John Akula对选修法律课程的一些建议

我在Sloan学院开了以下三门法律课程

• 15.615/15.647,企业家与经理人相关法规（秋季及春季、615是整学期的课程；647是上学期课程）
• 2. 15.616，商业创新与技术突破－法律议题（只有秋季）
• 13. 15.617，公司理财与金融市场法规（只有春季）

根据我身为执业律师的经验，我建议Sloan的学生选修法律课程，因为经理人面临许多与法律相关的议题，这不论是对公司福利或个人职业生涯都非常重要。这些议题通常都是在一般企业运作之外的突发状况。我的每一门课程之设计皆是让同学习得在各种状况下做最佳判断及领导所需的知识；另外这些课程也提供各位法律基础，以便将来能善用法律顾问；培养各位更熟悉未来职业生涯上所负责工作的核心法律议题

然而，我并未期望学生选修两门以上的法律课程，所以在课程设计上有一系列的选择，但这并无顺序之分，而且关于法规基础部份多所重复，是故选修一门个人最有兴趣的课程即可。

课程要求

课堂出席

学生应该亲自来上课，因为课程中教授内容不在阅读资料中。出席率会列入成绩计算，但是允许有合理理由而缺席（譬如找工作或家中有事）。请事先、或在该堂课后马上E-mail向助教请假，同时也寄副本给教授，信中毋需交代私人事务的细节

课程参与及“上台”准备

所有的学生都必须参与上课的讨论。除此之外，每一堂课会事先指定几位学生“上台报告”。“上台报告”的学生务必预习上课内容而且准备好回答阅读资料的相关问题，客座讲师将会询问“上台报告”的学生。每一个学生大约会轮到3次“上台报告”。

课后练习

我们会有两次课后练习，每次练习三个小时，至于三小时的练习时间是可以选择的。所有可以练习的期间都已经排定好，详见 “作业”那一页。每一次练习，同学必须在规定的期间内跟助教利用邮件在约好时间接收练习作业，然后在三小时内完成练习后将邮件回寄给助教。第二次的练习将不涵盖第一次的内容。

练习内容着重在指定阅读数据，而问题和格式将与往年类似（虽然与往年练习篇幅不同）。以前的练习题目及参考答案将会提供给学生。

同学不见得要用整整三个小时来作答，我采用这样的方式是因为速度快不见得就高分，这或许对英语为第二外语的学生很重要。

不只修我一门课的学生

如果选修我一门以上的课，就要在第二门课缴交额外的研究报告，而题目则可以和讲师讨论。

评分标准

评分不会局限一定的准则，但是大约会依据以下所显示的：

课本及课程读本

学生应该要购买：由Bagley, Constance E.和Craig E.Dauchy所著的《企业家之商法导引》－第二版，西南大学2002年发行，ISBN：0324042914。书中大部分章节都会读到。这个学期，在麻省理工学院复印中心稍后也会提供课程读本。.

异于去年之处

这门课程是第一年开课，将取代往年合并、收购法规的半学期课程（15.649）。

Topics

15.617 is an introduction to business law which covers the fundamentals, including contracts, liability, regulation, employment, and corporations, with an in-depth treatment of the law of finance, including law-sensitive aspects of M&A transactions, national and international financial and securities markets, venture capital and private equity, the financial structure of the corporation and other business entities, antitrust, bankruptcy and reorganization, the regulation of financial service providers, and the regulatory and liability risks associated with innovative financial products and services.

Some Advice from John Akula on Picking a Law Course

I offer the following three law courses at Sloan:

• 15.615/15.647, Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager (fall and spring) (615 is the full-semester course; 647 is the first half)
• 15.616, Innovative Businesses and Breakthrough Technologies - The Legal Issues (fall only)
• 15.617, The Law of Corporate Finance and Financial Markets (spring only)

Based on my experience as a practicing lawyer, I recommend that students at Sloan take a law course. Managers face many law-sensitive issues that are crucial to the welfare of their companies and their own careers. These issues often arise suddenly and outside the normal course of business. Each of my courses is designed to give you the understanding you will need to exercise good judgement and leadership in those situations. Each course will also provide you with the foundation in law that you will need to make effective use of legal advisors, and to develop later in your careers a more sophisticated understanding of any legal issues that are central to your particular responsibilities.

However, I do not expect students to take more than one law course. Thus my courses are designed as an array of choices, not a sequence, and there is substantial overlap with respect to legal fundamentals. You should pick the one that interests you most.

Requirements

Class Attendance

Students should attend class, since material is covered that is not in the readings. Attendance is taken. Absences for good cause (such as job hunting or family obligations) are excused. You should e-mail the TA before or shortly after the class in question, with a "cc" to the instructor, to request an excused absence. You do not need to include any personal details with the request.

Class Participation and "On-deck" Preparation

All students are expected to participate in class discussion. In addition, for each class, some students will be assigned in advance to be "on-deck." "On-deck" students should make certain that they prepare with special care and are ready to respond to questions about the readings. Guest lecturers are invited to call on the on-deck students. Each student will be "on-deck" approximately three times.

Take-home Exercises

There are two take-home exercises. Students have three hours for an exercise, and some choice as to the particular three-hour period. The exercises have been scheduled to be available during the periods shown on the assignments page. For each exercise, each student will make arrangements with the TA to receive the exam by e-mail at a mutually determined time during the availability period, and will e-mail back the completed exam within three hours of receiving it. The second exercise will cover only material not covered by the first.

During the period the exercises are available, students may not consult any other person about the content of the course.

The exercises heavily emphasize the required readings. The questions and format will be similar to previous years (although the exercises from some past years were of different lengths.) Past exercises and a sample answer will be made available to students.

It is not expected that students will need the full three hours to complete the exercise. I use this format so that a student does not have to write fast to do well. This may be of special importance to students for whom English is a second language.

Students Who Take More Than One of My Courses

If you take more than one of my courses, an additional research paper will be required in the second course, on a topic to be determined in discussions with the instructor.

Grading

Grading is not tied to a formula, but will be based approximately as shown below:

Textbook and Course Readers

Students should purchase: Bagley, Constance E., and Craig E. Dauchy. The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law. 2nd ed. South-Western College Publishing, 2002. ISBN: 0324042914. We will read most of this book. There will also be a course-reader available at the MIT copy center later in the semester.

Changes from Last Year

This is the first year this course is offered. It is replacing a half semester course (15.649) given in past years on the law of M&A.