Legal Strategy for Business
Online Program
Gain an essential understanding of the U.S. legal system in order to guide the strategic direction of your business, mitigate risk, and make better-informed leadership decisions.
8 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation
5–7 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online.
Email: northwesternkellogg@getsmarter.com
Call: +1 847 440 3906
About This Program
Effective leaders need to be able to make informed, strategic decisions that meet organizational objectives, and implement the appropriate preventative measures to mitigate risk. An essential understanding of the legal landscape will help you recognize high-risk corporate behavior, while providing certainty and stability, and serving as a mechanism to resolve disputes.
The Legal Strategy for Business online program from Kellogg Executive Education at Northwestern University is intended for professionals who want to understand the essentials of business law in order to become more effective, well-rounded leaders. A background in law is not required or expected.
Whether your organization is based in, or does business with, the United States, you’ll develop the legal literacy required to operate within its complex regulatory landscape. This executive education program will provide you with a foundational knowledge of United States business laws and regulations, as well as the expertise required to interpret and navigate them. You’ll also develop a personalized strategic plan to help you identify how the law can be used as a powerful business tool.
A litigation survey has identified two major trends: an increase in the number of organizations anticipating a rise in the volume of legal disputes, and an increase in the preventative measures they will be putting in place to mitigate this risk.*
* Norton Rose Fulbright (2019).
What This Program Covers
Over the course of eight weeks, you’ll explore the U.S. laws and regulations related to potential risks such as liability; negligence; the enforceability of contracts; antitrust and competition litigation; intellectual property; uncertainty around copyrights, patents, and trademarks; and the possibility of losing — or never having had — the protections offered by certain legal business structures.
Using plain English rather than legalese, each module will build your business expertise with class-wide forums to discuss the potential impact of these principles on your organization. On completion of this online executive education program, you’ll have developed a personalized legal strategy playbook pertaining to your business or industry that notes any significant regulations or statutes, identifies potential risks, and highlights issues on which to seek professional legal advice.
A Powerful Collaboration
Northwestern University and the Kellogg School of Management are collaborating with GetSmarter to create a best-in-class online education experience: from the design of programs that deliver verifiable competencies, to the personalized, people-mediated support learners receive.
About Kellogg Executive Education
Kellogg Executive Education empowers business leaders to foster growth in themselves, their teams and their organizations. Our renowned faculty, consisting of the world’s best researchers, educators and practitioners, provide practical insight that participants can apply as soon as they return to work. Providing a collaborative, immersive environment for our executive development programs, we serve a variety of businesses and executives from a myriad of industries and geographies.
About GetSmarter
GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, partners with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.aGetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, partners with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.
As a student, you will also gain unlimited access to 2U’s Career Engagement Network at no extra cost. This platform will provide you with valuable career resources and events to support your professional journey. You can look forward to benefits including rich content, career templates, webinars, workshops, career fairs, networking events, panel discussions, and exclusive recruitment opportunities to connect you with potential employers.*
*Some of these events may be virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
What You’ll Learn
You’ll be welcomed to the program and begin connecting with fellow students, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Students will also have the potential to discuss relevant topics by engaging in live sessions with the faculty. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.
You’ll be required to complete your student profile and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.
Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during program development.
Explore the application of U.S. laws both locally and globally, the role of the various courts, and an overview of dispute resolution.
- Highlight the difference between subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and extra-territorial reach
- Summarize the roles of the federal and state court systems
- Review the extent to which your own business or industry incorporates legal principles into its business strategy
- Outline the main stages of civil and criminal court proceedings
- Identify the key forms of alternative dispute resolution
Discover the circumstances under which a business is legally liable for the wrongful acts of its employees.
- Describe the circumstances in which an agency relationship is created
- Explain the difference between an agent and an independent contractor
- Determine when vicarious liability applies to employers
- Apply the work-related test to determine the scope of agency
- Analyze how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Assess the liability of an employer for the wrongful act of an agent or independent contractor
Examine the basic requirements for a claim under tort law and the potential defenses to it.
- Describe the different types of business torts
- Articulate the elements of a negligence claim
- Determine the defenses to a negligence claim
- Determine the circumstances under which punitive damages can be claimed
- Distinguish the requirements of a strict liability (product liability) claim
- Analyze how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Assess whether a company may be found liable under tort law
Investigate the fundamentals of commercial contracts and key business considerations.
- Describe the elements necessary to form a commercial contract
- Identify guidelines for the interpretation and enforcement of contracts
- Articulate a possible remedy if a contract is found unenforceable
- Analyze the limited defenses to a properly formed commercial contract
- Investigate the valuation of contractual damage claims
- Analyze how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Assess whether a commercial contract is enforceable and recommend business solutions
Examine the nuances of antitrust law and global competition law.
- Describe the key features of the antitrust regulatory landscape
- Identify conduct that violates section 1 and section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and possible defenses
- Articulate the requirements of a successful global merger review
- Investigate the possible civil and criminal penalties for antitrust violations
- Analyze how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Assess whether businesses are at risk of contravening antitrust and competition law
Discover the business value of patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
- Outline the regulatory scheme of intellectual property
- Explain the requirements of trade secret protection and the penalties for misappropriation
- Articulate the requirements for trademark, copyright and trade dress registration and the penalties for infringement
- Analyze the requirements for the prosecution and enforcement of patents
- Assess how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Recommend a comprehensive intellectual property strategy
Review various business structures and the circumstances in which the protection they offer might be lost.
- Outline the primary drivers for selecting an appropriate business entity
- Review the fundamental characteristics of the corporate form
- Articulate when the corporate form might be invalidated
- Compare the pros and cons of operating as an LLC
- Compare the pros and cons of operating as a partnership or franchise
- Analyze how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Assess which business entity is best suited to the circumstances, and how to properly maintain it
Explore the fundamentals of good corporate governance and the fiduciary duties of directors and officers.
- Describe the fundamentals of good corporate governance
- Explain the fiduciary duties of officers and directors
- Determine the circumstances under which shareholders can sue for breaches of fiduciary duties
- Investigate how claims of fiduciary breaches are resolved
- Analyze how the legal principles in this module might be used offensively and defensively in your own context
- Assess whether officers and directors are complying with principles of good corporate governance and their fiduciary duties
Who Should Take This Program
This executive education program from Kellogg Executive Education is for owners, managers, start-up founders, and anyone who requires a fundamental understanding of U.S. business law. It also provides beneficial insight into the laws that will impact professionals such as entrepreneurs and executives. Whether you are looking to grow in your current role, take on more responsibility, or improve your legal literacy, you’ll benefit from the expert guidance of Kellogg faculty, as you learn to understand and operate within an increasingly complex landscape of rules and regulations.
This Program Is for You if You Want To:
Understand Business Law
Gain essential legal knowledge to guide the strategic direction of your business, mitigate risk, and make more informed and effective leadership decisions.
Enhance Your Skill Set
Learn how to interpret the many laws and regulations that make up the complex U.S. legal landscape.
Develop a Strategic Approach
Create a personalized legal strategy playbook to identify how the law might be used as a powerful business tool for developing offensive and defensive business strategies.
About the Certificate
Get recognized for your knowledge when you earn an official digital certificate of completion from the Kellogg School of Management — and use it to set yourself apart as a business leader capable of operating within the U.S. legal environment.
Assessment is continuous and based on a series of practical assignments completed online. In order to be issued with a certificate, you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the program handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the program.
Your certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you digitally upon successful completion of the program, as per the stipulated requirements. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of the University.
Who You’ll Learn From
This subject matter expert from the Kellogg School of Management guides the program design and appears in a number of program videos, along with a variety of learning-enhancing interviews with leading professionals in U.S. law.
Your Academic Director
Mark McCareins
Clinical Professor of Business Law, Strategy Department, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University
McCareins teaches business law, including antitrust and competition, and non-profit governance and organization. He is also the co-director of the dual JD/MBA program at Kellogg. McCareins received a Student Impact Award for his teaching in the fall quarter of 2016 and served as the co-chair of the Kellogg Vertical Merger Conference in January 2019. While he has been instructing at Kellogg for 30 years, he also practiced law as a senior partner in the international law firm of Winston and Strawn LLP for 33 years before retiring in 2014.
Head Facilitator
Michael Trucco
Executive Editor, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
How You’ll Learn
Every program is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:
- Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
- Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
- Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
- Investigate rich, real-world case studies
- Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and activity submissions, culminating in a foundational understanding of U.S. business law
- Engage and discuss topics through live sessions with the faculty
Your Success Team
GetSmarter, with whom Kellogg School of Management is collaborating to deliver this online program, provides a personalized approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.
Head Facilitator
A subject expert who’ll guide you through content-related challenges.
Success Adviser
Your one-on-one support available during university hours (8a.m.–5p.m. CDT) to resolve technical and administrative challenges.
Global Success Team
Available 24/7 to solve your tech-related and administrative queries and concerns.
"I’ve instructed thousands of Kellogg students over the years in the fundamentals of business law. While the core concepts of marketing, accounting, industrial organizations and the like are necessary components to any business person, there is no escaping the legal landscape. I‘m excited to expand these much-needed teachings to an even larger audience who will encounter the vagaries of the U.S. legal system throughout their business careers."
Mark McCareins
Academic Director
Technical Requirements
Basic Requirements
In order to complete this program, you’ll need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.
Browser Requirements
We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to program material. This browser can be downloaded here.
Additional Requirements
Certain programs may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the program. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our program delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing program content. Please check with an Enrollment Adviser before registering for this program if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.
