I am going to use this, along with other materials, to, again, show my
students why it is important that they learn something about the law.  I
tell them that my goal is to make them "informed consumers" about legal
issues that are raised on a daily basis when, and if, they become managers.
 What they need to know is when they have a potential legal problem and
that they should know enough to also challenge and/or discuss the legal
advice they get in a logical well informed manner.


At 03:05 PM 11/7/99 -0500, you wrote:
>My apologies to begin with, This is something of an angry letter – and
>I’m sorry if that seems inappropriate. But I am hereby declaring
>November 5 “Business Law Day”. Page 1 of Canadian papers today have two
>lead stories: the Microsoft decision and the collapse of the hostile
>takeover bid for Air Canada. I will leave discussion of Microsoft to my
>US colleagues. There will ndoubtedly be further chapters to both
>stories. But the sheer vacuousness of business school faculty or
>administrators thinking that law in not a foundation course slams home
>with today’s lead stories.
>
>Let me put the Canadian story in context. For the past 11 weeks Onex has
>been engaged in a hostile takeover bid for Air Canada. Millions of
>dollars have been thrown at the battle by Onex and Air Canada
>(yesterday’s estimates had $50 million per company over 11 weeks). Now
>consider this quote from the Globe and Mail “Mr. Justice André Wery of
>Quebec Superior Court ruled Onex’s bid illegal because it violated a
>federal statute that limits any one shareholder to owning 10 percent of
>the carrier. Judge Wery said Onex’s mechanism for skirting the
>10-per-cent rule ‘is arguably an ingenious one, but...its underlying
>legal conclusion is specious.’  The decision shocked the Onex team. They
>always knew the Quebec court might rule against them, but lawyers
>advising the buyout specialists had said a more likely outcome was
>either no decision, or a judgment in their favour.” The story was
>accompanied by a photo of Gerry Schwartz, the thwarted bid-king, being
>escorted into his bad news conference by a phalanx of apparently cloned
>young advisors. Perhaps Gerry and the gang would have done a whole lot
>better with a tad more diversity and certainly more wisdom.
>
>What was the role of the lawyers here? Were they really ever listened
>to? Did anyone take them seriously? Why would anyone think there might
>be no decision (not the norm folks). So what we are left with is two
>organizations with financial troubles spending multi-millions of dollars
>in a war that enhanced nothing, where the same monies might have been
>spent on a couple of new planes that arguably would have added value.
>
>And some dare to tell us that business law is not essential to a
>manager’s education. How much better would be Schwartz’ and Gates’
>positions on the 6th November, if they had ever listened to good legal
>strategy. Were Gerry’s
>clones as well versed in legal issues as they were in matters of high
>finance? If they were, why weren’t they just plain smarter?
>
>That’s my rant for the day, but please mark your calendars for what
>should become an annual commemoration of the turning point for the role
>of law in our business schools. The mighty indeed fell. To quote the CEO
>of Air Canada:
>“ [The fifth] is a great day for the law.”.
>
>All of this is a long winded way of getting to the point that the
>Executive Committee has listened closely to the discussions about where
>we should be going in getting the message across about the essential
>quality of business law to the education of future managers and
>professionals. Over the next few months some of the processes will
>become clearer. I thank everyone for their suggestions. I particularly
>thank those who have agreed to help or will agree once asked. These are
>tasks that require far more people than those of us on the Executive
>Committee and we are most fortunate we have so many to call upon.
>Likewise, thanks to the major publishers who continue to be a very
>active part in this effort.
>
>Finally, one reminder and one update. Tri-State is meeting next weekend
>in Battle Creek, Michigan. If you want further information, please
>contact Frank Strier at 310 243 3472 or [log in to unmask] Dan
>Herron and Art Marinelli (next year’s much appreciated program chair for
>the Baltimore meeting) will be there on behalf of the National
>Executive.
>
>The update: the strategic planning exercise continues with an on-line
>meeting on the 23rd November. We are getting to more detailed
>implementation issues which ties in also with the theme of this report.
>
>Thanks again for all your interest and support and I’ll report more in a
>couple of weeks.
>
>Sally Gunz
>