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Legal Studies and Business Ethics

Introduction
Law and social values are central features of commercial life in every culture throughout the world, figuring prominently in local, national, and global business environments. Wharton's Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department researches and disseminates insights on the impact of law and ethics on business. Its faculty seeks knowledge on how law and social norms affect business and propose innovative changes in public and corporate policy to improve society.

The department's work reflects several major areas of interest:

• Business Law involves contracts, corporate law, international commercial transactions, environmental law, securities regulation, employment law, and the legal issues surrounding such fields as technology, sports and entertainment, entrepreneurship, real estate, and health care.
• Business Ethics examines how business entities and individuals can better serve their own and society's interests through the observance and promotion of ethical, moral, and social values.
• The Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department also engages in significant research and teaching activities in Negotiation, Law and Philosophy, and International Legal Issues.

Research
The Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department's current research topics and activities include:

• European Union law
• Insider trading regulation
• International trade regulation under the World Trade Organization
• Legal regulation of negotiation processes
• Corporate criminal law
• Implications of social contract theory for business ethics
• Diversity
• E-Commerce

• Center for Leadership and Change Management
• Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
• SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management
• Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton
• Wharton Sports Business Initiative (WSBI)
• Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research

Academic Programs
The Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department is responsible for general, nonprofessional legal education at both the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania. Our course offerings are among the University's most popular at both undergraduate and graduate levels. They include basic and specialized courses in law, as well as courses in business ethics and negotiations. While the department does not offer a formal concentration or major, it co-sponsors with Penn's History Department an interschool University minor in Legal Studies and History. Its courses also figure in the MBA Environmental and Risk Management Major and the University Minor in Organizations and Environmental Management. Students may develop individualized Legal Studies and Business Ethics concentrations in Wharton's:

• Undergraduate Program
• MBA Program
• Doctoral Program