Bill:

Maybe if enough of them involved their companies in multimillion dollar
lawsuits .  . . . oh well.

Gamewell Gantt
Idaho State U. - the virtually virtual univeristy in the wilderness.
______________

"William McDevitt, MIS Department" wrote:

> Fran:
>
>          I can't quit just yet.  I have to teach an MBA business law course
> tonight so, hopefully, these people will learn enough to call a lawyer
> before they say or don't say, or do or don't do, something that puts them
> and their companies on the wrong side of a multimillion dollar lawsuit.
>
>                                          Bill
>
> At 05:26 PM 10/28/1999 -0400, you wrote:
> >A few other arguments come to mind as I read the contributions to the
> >discussion so far.  I summarize the previous messages and their
> >arguments against having law as a fundamental part of the business
> >curriculum as follows:
> >
> >1.  Adjuncts are cheaper and you can get them by the dozen to teach
> >law.  (I add that, unlike other fields, our adjuncts are terminally
> >qualified, which makes deans smile.  I suspect our colleagues think that
> >
> >anyone can teach law and that we find these folks at the bus station,
> >but no one has ever said that to my face).
> >
> >2.  There is no obvious career path for someone coming out of business
> >school with a law major.
> >
> >3.  PhDs look down their noses at "mere" JDs.
> >
> >I hope I haven't left anyone out.  To the above I would add the thought
> >that law, as seen by our colleagues, is actually antithetical to
> >business.  It is, after all, the law that imposes restrictions on
> >business and how it operates.  We are seen as the folks who say no all
> >the time.  We mess up our finance colleagues' notion of perfect markets;
> >
> >we throw roadblocks in front of our manufacturing and marketing
> >colleagues. And we can make grown accounting professors cry.  I suspect
> >they think that if we really believed in business, we would have chosen
> >a different discipline.  Last, we are, afterall, lawyers.  Most of us
> >don't call ourselves that, but our colleagues sure do.  Quite apart from
> >
> >the bad feelings our colleagues have for the profession in general, they
> >
> >sure as heck don't want us out there producing baby lawyers through our
> >classes.
> >
> >There's my two cents.  It's quitting time.  Time to go home, everyone.
>
> William J. McDevitt, J.D.
> Saint Joseph's University
> Haub School of Business
> Dept. of Mgt. & IS
> 5600 City Avenue
> Phila., PA  19131
> 610/660-1634
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