Fundamentals of Business Law

Reviewed by Marcus Ellison, Adjunct Faculty, Trine University on 6/24/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The textbook covers a wide variety of general legal areas. It is appropriate for a college-level business law course though it has many chapters that are not business-focused but instead could fit in a generally broad undergraduate legal survey class.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is accurate and does a good job of clearly addressing each of the identified objectives listed at the beginning of each chapter. If you are skimming the text those objectives do a good job of telling you what that chapter will be about and what it will cover.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

This textbook generally covers broad-based legal principles and historical legal traditions that are timeless and each chapter for the most part covers a different area of the law and can stand alone. There is a section of a few chapters in a row that cover contracts and another few in a row that covers business formation and operations, but most chapters can stand alone. This makes it easy for someone teaching who wants to use this text to only have students read chapters that are relevant to what the class will cover. Some topics that are covered are subject to more frequent and regular changes in the law so care will have to be considered for those areas.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written for an undergraduate student level, it is not overly full of legalese or something you would see used in a law school course. The text is most likely for business students or those seeking a course that will provide a basic legal overview. I would not expect it to be used in a paralegal-oriented course, however.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent in how it lays things out and in style, tone, and demeanor. The content is primarily text-based but there are some charts and basic graphs that do provide some varied content to help break up the text pages.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter of the book covers a unique area that can be studied separately from the other chapters. Most chapters highlight a unique area of the law and cover the basic principles and terminology related to that area. Most chapters’ content will not tie into or build upon things covered in previous or subsequent chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is logically organized and covers most of the topics you would expect to see covered in an undergraduate legal survey or introductory business law course. There is not as much content about applying the legal principles covered in practical settings so if using this text that kind of information will be needed as a supplement.

Interface rating: 5

The text overall was clear and easy to read. There were a few charts and tables to help supplement the content where appropriate. There were also occasional “counselor’s corner” call-out boxes that helped explain to the reader why this area of content was particularly important.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is free from grammatical and spelling errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook is not insensitive or offensive in any way and it has a chapter that focuses on an anti-discrimination law that is well-written, timely, and appropriate for the age and time.

Comments

This is a good textbook for undergraduate students seeking a basic understanding of the law. Most business law courses or legal survey courses of this type are semester-long, though there is enough content in this text to be used for a full school year if there is a business law 2 class that would follow the first one. A high school dual credit business law class that goes year long could also use this text.

Reviewed by Cynthia Gayton, Professorial Lecturer of Engineering Law, The George Washington University on 2/24/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book covered a lot of legal ground and I think it would be useful as a reference to not only those interested in business law, but other fields as well.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

I did find some areas in the book that did indicate biases in the form of what "should" be the legal landscape as well as the national governance history (1.2) and if it could be tied to problems businesses may have if trying to operate their businesses under different legal regimes, I think that would have been useful.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Most of the subjects and legal guidance will stand the test of time. The more volatile areas (labor law, IP, products liability) may evolve more quickly, but generally I think the fundamentals are sound.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is written in accessible prose. The book does have a more "lawyerly" tone than I expected, but it was not overwhelming.

Consistency rating: 4

I did find repetition in some places - particularly with regard to how the legal system is structured (separation of powers, as well as court system) in the United States and the several places the Constitution was discussed in similar terms as well as international law. I did find myself going back to see whether I had already read a page or saw a graphic more than once.

Modularity rating: 4

For modularity purposes, then my comment above regarding "consistency" may not be applicable. If it is intended to be modular, then that clarifies what I thought was repetitive. I definitely think that a syllabus could be pulled cleanly from different sections to address issues as they are needed over a course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The chapters are presented in a logical, clear fashion. I did find for myself that I was expecting a discussion about something that didn't - for example, I was expecting a discussion about business/professional ethics, which I didn't find.

Interface rating: 4

Generally, the interface was good. There were a few tables that did not appear completely on the page.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any glaring grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is not culturally insensitive, however, when referring to conditions in other countries, I think it would have been useful to link the cultural/legal differences to how businesses should engage legally and responsibly in other countries.

Comments

Something that stood out was that there were direct quotes from people - but their full names were not provided. I am not sure why that was - and it was a little confusing - was it an effort to hide someone's identity? If that is the case, I'm not sure why the person was quoted at all if not an authority on the subject for which they were being quoted.
The book was legal procedure and practice heavy at the beginning of the book. Because Chapter 1 indicated that the book was intended to help navigate business dealings, the emphasis on what law students would usually study to become lawyers, may confuse people who want to know legal nuts and bolts for operating a business. It would come in handy as a reference if a business got into trouble!