10 Page Memorandum For MBA Level Business Law Course
***This is an outline and each section much be labeled and number per the
attached guidelines!***
You will assume the role of an intern at the legal department at one of the
two companies in the scenario (Greene or Howell) and compile a 10-page memo
for your supervisor, which will be used to formulate an official executive
brief of the lawsuits. Your findings and critical assessment of the cases
will help shape the approach of corporate stakeholders to the legal matters
raised, including each company's response to each situation.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following
course outcomes:
· Assess the impact of business law on organizational decision making for
informing strategic legal decisions
· Analyze pertinent facts of business client cases by effectively employing
foundational law principles
· Select key legislation and legal precedents that impact client cases for
informing legal decisions
· Assess the impact of public perception on companies in legal situations
for informing business practices
· Assess the legal and ethical implications of United States companies
doing business abroad for informing business decisions that are compliant
with applicable domestic laws
*Prompt* You are an intern at the legal department at one of the companies
in the following scenario (Greene or Howell) and tasked with compiling a
memo for your supervisor, which will be used to formulate an official
executive brief of these lawsuits.
*Scenario* Mary Jane and Allen Greene, a married couple, own a high-end
costume jewelry manufacturing and distribution company called Greene's
Jewelry Wholesale, LLC. The principal place of business for Greene's
Jewelry is in Derry, New Hampshire, where it owns a warehouse and two
storefronts. Originally started in 1957, the company expanded over five
decades, and it now employs 502 individuals in a variety of departments,
including sales and marketing, research and development, human resources,
and manufacturing.
The primary asset of Greene's Jewelry is its process for creating a
synthetic gold-colored material called "Ever-Gold," which is used in
Greene's necklaces, rings, earrings, and bracelets. Ever-Gold is impervious
to scratches, discoloration, oxidization, and is marketed as "everlasting
gold." Greene’s maintains this process as a trade secret.
Jennifer Lawson, who has been employed for three years as a junior
executive secretary in the research and development department at Greene's
Jewelry, has just learned that she is pregnant. She has earned high marks
on each of her annual reviews with the company, with the exception of the
fact that she routinely shows up 15 to 30 minutes late for work. Otherwise,
she is deemed to be professional, articulate, diligent, and skilled in her
role with the company. When Lawson advises the head of human resources,
Lisa Peele, that she may have to take additional time off as a result of
some high-risk factors that she will face during the course of her
pregnancy, she is told that her position has been eliminated. The specific
words are: "Congratulations Jennifer! That is exciting news for you. We do
not need to worry about time off, though, because, regrettably, I was just
going to let you know that we are downsizing and no longer have a need for
any of our junior executive secretaries."
Jennifer is distraught, and immediately returns to her desk to clear it out
as instructed. She removes all of her personal items, as well as the
projects she was working on prior to her discussion with Lisa Peele. When
she returns to her home, she realizes that she has inadvertently taken a
draft letter to Greene's intellectual property attorney, which details the
secret process for creating Ever-Gold.
Although Greene's Jewelry requires all of its executives to sign covenants
not to compete and confidentiality agreements, Jennifer was only required
to sign a confidentiality agreement, by which she agreed never to disclose
any information that she might acquire from Greene's regarding the process
used to create Ever-Gold.
Panicked, and knowing that she needs a job, she calls one of Greene's
competitors, Howell Jewelry World, and advises its hiring manager that she
is a former employee of Greene's, that she needs a job, and that she has
confidential information about Ever-Gold that would help Howell compete
with Greene's. The hiring manager at Howell, Naomi White, schedules an
interview with Jennifer for the following day
At the end of the interview, Naomi makes an offer to Jennifer to begin work
with Howell immediately, but she conditions the offer on Jennifer's
execution of an employment contract. The contract contains two specific
provisions that Naomi insists Jennifer read and initial, in addition to
signing the contract as a whole. One of those provisions states that
Jennifer will disclose the information she has regarding the Ever-Gold
process prior to commencing work with Howell. The other provision is a
covenant to not work for any competitor of Howell for two years after she
leaves the employ of Howell, irrespective of the reason for leaving, and
whether she quits or is fired. Jennifer initials both of the provisions,
signs the contract for employment, and gives Naomi a copy of the letter
that she removed from her desk at Greene's.
One week after she starts working with Howell, Jennifer is fired for
chronic tardiness, and she thereafter gets a job working as a sales
associate with the only other jewelry company in town, Triumph Jewels.
Meanwhile, Greene's learns that Howell has acquired knowledge of the secret
process used to create Ever-Gold, and that Howell has tweaked the process
slightly to create a product with similar characteristics and qualities to
Ever-Gold. Howell, for its part, has learned that Jennifer is working for a
competitor and fears that Jennifer will disclose the process to Triumph.
Finally, one of Howell's customers had developed a disfiguring rash as a
direct result of the new process Howell has begun using in its jewelry
Greene's sues Jennifer for breach of the confidentiality agreement when it
learns that she has given confidential information to Howell. Jennifer
counter-sues Greene's for wrongful termination. Howell sues Jennifer for
breach of the covenant not to compete, and Jennifer counter-sues for
fraudulent inducement, believing that she was tricked into signing the
employment contract with Howell and that Howell was never interested in
hiring her, but was interested only in acquiring information on the process
to create Ever-Gold. Howell also sues Triumph, claiming that it knew or
should have known that Jennifer was subject to a covenant not to compete,
and that Triumph should therefore be bound by its provisions.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Memo Introduction: Articulate what you feel are the strengths of your
company’s legal claim or defense.
II. Client’s Case
A. Facts and Laws
1. Analyze the facts related to employment discrimination or
unlawful termination based on your company’s perspective.
2. Analyze the facts related to contract issues based on your
company’s perspective.
3. Identify the operative employment and contract laws that apply
to your company’s case.
B. Precedent
1. Select cases that support your company’s position in terms of
employment discrimination or unlawful termination. Justify why they support
its case.
2. Select cases that support your company’s position in terms of
contract disputes. Justify why they support its case.
C. Facts to be Determined
1. Determine any facts that will help you better analyze your
company’s position. In other words, what questions do you need answered
before you can proceed?
2. Explain how the identified facts will help establish the legal
rights and/or obligations of the defendant in relation to your company. In
other words, how would those facts reflect on the propriety and legality of
the decisions that were made?
D. Application of the Law to the Facts: Using the precedents you have
selected in case law, regulations, and substantive law, assess the
strengths and weaknesses of your company's arguments in court. Is it
probable your company will win this legal dispute?
E. Impact Assessment
1. Based on your analysis, how do you believe this situation may
affect public perception of your selected company? Will the public
discourse reflect possible legal outcomes? Be sure to use specific
examples.
2. Make suggestions on how to alleviate any damages to your
selected company’s public perception going forward. Will action(s) related
to the other party be appropriate?
3. Recommend how the company should modify specific business
practices to avoid similar situations in the future.
In the Memo Introduction, articulate what you feel are the strengths of
your company’s legal claim or defense. In the Facts and Laws section,
analyze the facts related to employment discrimination or unlawful
termination based on your company’s perspective. Analyze the facts related
to contract issues based on your company’s perspective. Identify the
operative employment and contract laws that apply to your company’s case.
In the Precedent section, select cases that support your company’s position
in terms of employment discrimination or unlawful termination. Justify why
they support its case. Select cases that support your company’s position in
terms of contract disputes. Justify why they support its case. In the Facts
to be Determined section, determine any facts that will help you better
analyze your company’s position. In other words, what questions do you need
answered before you can proceed? Explain how the identified facts will help
establish the legal rights and/or obligations of the defendant in relation
to your company. In other words, how would those facts reflect on the
propriety and legality of the decisions that were made? This section should
be 4–5 pages.
In the Application of the Law to the Facts section, use the precedents you
have selected in case law, regulations, and substantive law, assess the
strengths and weaknesses of your company's arguments in court. Is it
probable your company will win this legal dispute? In the Impact Assessment
section, based on your analysis, how do you believe this situation may
affect public perception of your selected company? Will the public
discourse reflect possible legal outcomes? Be sure to use specific
examples. Make suggestions on how to alleviate any damages to your selected
company’s public perception going forward. Will action(s) related to the
other party be appropriate? Recommend how the company should modify
specific business practices to avoid similar situations in the future. This
section should be 4–5 pages.
Your professional business memorandum should adhere to the following
formatting requirements: 10 pages (not including title and reference
pages), double-spaced, using 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch
margins. You should use current APA style guidelines for your citations and
reference list. Generally speaking, the best memos include references to at
least two cases for each point of law that is mentioned. Students also earn
high marks when they cite to cases that appear to support a different legal
resolution than the one presented by the student, and then distinguishing
that case from the scenario described in this assignment. Such distinctions
demonstrate exemplary understanding of the course materials.
GeneralEssayUndergraduate
Need this done?
Similar assignment?
Get it done by a vetted professional writer in as little as 1 hour.