V-Legal Executive Certificate

About This Course

V-Legal is a series of three online courses designed to help executives and managers gain fluency in the legal principles, language, and processes business leaders need to understand. Professionals who earn the certificate will learn to “think like a lawyer” when making decisions for their businesses or organizations, gaining skills that may have an immediate impact on their job performance and career advancement.

The certificate will cover the basic structure of the legal system and legal reasoning, and introduce you to important business topics, including Contracts, Discovery, Attorney-Client Privilege, and Property.

Course Objectives:

Learn how to confidently work with lawyers
Understand legal risk in the business environment
Become a sophisticated consumer of legal advice
Synthesize legal issues at work and in the news
Gain a basic understanding of U.S. law, legal structures, legal research, and more
Receive an invaluable education from Vanderbilt – a Top 20 Law School

Course 1 -The Architecture of American Law

Learn the intricate details of how American law and government are structured, and how they operate. You will discover the nature of the law and a brief history and structure of American government and the legal system. This course will cover lawsuits and how they work, and we will compare them to other methods of dispute resolution.

Segment 1.01 – Introduction to the V-Legal Certificate Program
Segment 1.02 – Nature of Law
Segment 1.03 – History of American Government
Segment 1.04 – Structure of Government: Overview
Segment 1.05 – Structure of Government: Federalism
Segment 1.06 – Structure of Government: Executive
Segment 1.07 – Structure of Government: Legislature
Segment 1.08 – Structure of Government: Judiciary
Segment 1.09 – Structure of American Government: Administrative Agencies Segment 1.10 – Structure of the American Legal System
Segment 1.11 – Structure of American Courts
Segment 1.12 – Supreme Court
Segment 1.13 – Anatomy of a Lawsuit: Overview
Segment 1.14 – Anatomy of a Lawsuit: Jurisdiction
Segment 1.15 – Anatomy of a Lawsuit: Discovery
Segment 1.16 – Class Actions
Segment 1.17 – Alternatives to Litigation
Segment 1.18 – International and Comparative Perspective

Course 2 – The Language of the Law: How Lawyers Think

Discover the inner workings of legal concepts, the types of reasoning that both lawyers and judges use, and how they interpret various legal sources. You’ll learn about basic concepts, such as burdens of proof, efficiency, rules, statutes, and standards. This course will help you understand how lawyers think, reason, and manage corporate risk.

Segment 2.01 – Types and Sources of Law
Segment 2.02 – Risks and Ambiguity in Law
Segment 2.03 – Modes of Interpretation – Statutes and Regulations Segment 2.04 – Test Your Statutory Interpretation Skills
Segment 2.05 – Modes of Interpretation: Constitutions
Segment 2.06 – Rules and Standards
Segment 2.07 – Law and Fact/Burden of Proof
Segment 2.08 – Consensual vs. Regulatory Governance
Segment 2.09 – Regulatory Choices
Segment 2.10 – Efficiency
Segment 2.11 – The Role of Lawyers
Segment 2.12 – The Legal Profession
Segment 2.13 – Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Course 3 – The Content of American Law

Learn about basic doctrines that govern many areas of the law, such as Contract Law, Property Law, Torts, Administrative Law, Employment Discrimination, Evidence, Legal Ethics, Legal Remedies, Criminal Law and Procedure, Intellectual Property, and International Law. These areas are highly relevant to your interactions with lawyers.

Segment 3.01 – Constitutional Law
Segment 3.02 – Constitutional Law II
Segment 3.03 – Contracts I
Segment 3.04 – Contracts II
Segment 3.05 – Torts I
Segment 3.06 – Torts II
Segment 3.07 – Property I
Segment 3.08 – Property II
Segment 3.09 – Administrative Law
Segment 3.10 – Employment Law
Segment 3.11 – Evidence
Segment 3.12 – Remedies
Segment 3.13 – Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Segment 3.14 – Intellectual Property I
Segment 3.15 – Intellectual Property II
Segment 3.16 – International Law
Segment 3.17 – Corporations
Segment 3.18 – Tax Law
Segment 3.19 – Wrap Up