BLAW3700 Seattle University Sleazy in Seattle Business Law Discussion
Assignment One
After reading Sleazy in Seattle, please comment here to each of the following questions:
1. How does the behavior of the”¯attorneys at Bogle and Gates raise concerns about legal ethics in this case?”¯Include specific examples from the discovery process.
2. What do you think of the attorney’s duty to “zealously advocate” for their clients in this case?”¯ Do you agree with the experts that the behavior of the law firm was appropriate and responsible, or do you agree with Washington State Supreme Court’s interpretation, and why?
3. Reflect on your course UCOR 2910: “Ethical Reasoning in Business,” or any other ethics course you took in the UCOR. Depending on when you took it, and who your professor was, you may have used different terms or a different framework to think about ethical values. But you likely can at least appreciate these five values:
Autonomy: a person’s ability to govern herself and to order her own life (as the ethicists say, to be an “end in herself’) implies that she must not be used as a means to an end that she did not choose (most closely associated with deontology)
Non-pain/Pleasure: an person’s capacity to experience pain or pleasure implies that I must not cause him pain unnecessarily (most closely associated with utilitarianism)
Equality: a person must not be regarded or treated as inferior to or superior to other persons
Cooperation: when people cooperate, they form trust, and living in a high- trust environment makes possible many of the things we associate with a good life (most closely associated with contractarianism)
Character Excellence: I should want to be the kind of person who enjoys doing ethical things and doesn’t enjoy doing unethical things. If so, I am a person with an excellent or virtuous character, and this is widely regarded as a source of personal well-being. However, by doing unethical things, I may harm or corrupt my own character (most closely associated with virtue ethics)
Which values would you focus on if you were a manager at Fisons, the pharmaceutical company in the case? What course of action would you have taken if you were the manager and you were aware of the case specifics regarding drug testing and what the company knew about the effects of taking the drug?
Assignment Two
Sean Olson has a national franchise in the U.S. of yoga studios all doing business under the name “The Ashram Hot Yoga”. “¯His most lucrative studios are located in NYC, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Seattle. The business has a trademark for the phrase “The Ashram Hot Yoga” registered with the USPTO since 2015 and associated with the business fields of education, amusement and entertainment.
Janine Hiller owns and operates a yoga studio business in the United Kingdom trading under the name “Hot Girls Hot Boys Hot Yoga”.”¯ There are multiple locations in the UK. Janine has a European Union trademark registered since 2014 in the EU for “Hot Girls Hot Boys Hot Yoga”, and similarly associated with education, amusement and entertainment.
Janine has decided to expand her business in the U.S. She has leased five studio spaces located in NYC, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Seattle, each doing business as “Hot Girls Hot Boys Hot Yoga.” She has not yet filed for a trademark with the USPTO.”¯ Sean finds out about Janine’s new studios and wants her to stop using the “Hot Girls Hot Boys Hot Yoga” name as he believes she is unfairly competing in his principle markets.”¯ You are Sean’s attorney.”¯ Advise him of what he might do legally in his effort to shut down Janine’s U.S. business and the likelihood of his success.”¯ Explain the issue or issues to him clearly, and your reasoning by using the IRAC method.”¯ Please limit your essay to 500 words.
Assignment Three
Please complete an IRAC of the Yeager case (posted in unit 2 files) and the Hamer v. Sidway case (textbook chapter) and upload both IRACs here in one document. “¯Please limit each to no more than 500 words (per IRAC).
Assignment four
Please review the powerpoint presentation in Unit 3 on Employer Liability for Employee Behavior. Then please complete an IRAC for the hypothetical below. After you have completed your IRAC, please peer review the one assigned to you. Both your original and your review are worth 5 points each. When you are completing your review, please provide a grade (1 point for each of the IRAC and 1 point for overall quality, including grammar and spelling for a total of 5 points). Your IRAC is due on May 28 by 10 PM. Your peer review will be assigned after and will be due on May 30 by 10 PM.
Quality Day Care Center of Seattle hired Mad Max as a new bus driver to drive the children in its care on their weekly field trips. One day, Max is driving a group of 4 and 5 year olds to the Children’s Museum when he experiences severe road rage in response
