How to use this guide
This guide follows the published description of SGMA 395, Business Law for Strategic Decision-Makers, and the standard topics of an introductory Canadian business law course, with Alberta examples throughout. Instructors' emphasis and notation vary: check your own course outline and use this guide to fill the gaps.
This guide teaches general legal principles for study. It is not legal advice. Laws change and differ by province, every case and business here is invented, and a real problem needs a lawyer.
Module order. Work the tabs left to right, the way a business law course usually runs. 01 explains where law comes from, how courts and the Charter fit together, how judges reason and how disputes are resolved. 02 covers torts, the wrongs that make someone pay for harm they cause. 03 covers contracts from formation to remedies. 04 and 05 cover the ways to organize a business: proprietorships, partnerships, agency and corporations. 06 covers employment law and 07 intellectual property. Then use Issue spotting to practise the one skill that ties everything together.
Inside each module: read the idea, work each example on paper before opening it (they run simplest first), then play with the lab. Law questions are almost never "recite the rule": they hand you facts and ask what the law does with them. That is why the worked examples all use the same four steps below.
The IRAC method
- Issue. State the legal question in one sentence, tied to the facts: "Did Sam's offer to sell the van bind him once Lee said yes?"
- Rule. State the rule or test that answers it, in plain words, from a statute or from past cases.
- Application. Walk the facts through the rule, element by element. Say which facts help each side and why. This is where most marks are won.
- Conclusion. Answer the issue and say how confident you are. "Likely enforceable" is better than a flat yes when the facts are thin.
Habits that cost marks
- Reciting a rule and never touching the facts.
- Stopping at the first issue: real fact patterns hide three or four.
- Treating a defence as a reason the claim "isn't real". A defence only matters after the plaintiff has proved the claim.
- Saying "he broke the law" when the dispute is private (civil), or "she must pay" when nothing has been proved.
- Ignoring the remedy: the question is often "what can the injured party get?"
| Level | What it asks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | One definition, or one rule matched to one fact | Name the tort. Which element of a contract is missing? |
| Intermediate | One issue with a short application | Is a minor's contract enforceable? Split a loss by fault |
| Exam level | Several issues in one fact pattern, with a conclusion | A dismissed employee with a probation clause and a non-compete |
| Hard | Twists: two rules pull opposite ways, or the facts are thin | An agent with no actual authority whose principal stayed silent |
The drill starts at Beginner and steps up a level after three correct answers in a row; you can also pick a level yourself. The multiple choice, written questions and flashcards are ordered easy → hard. A written answer is marked by you against the model answer: look for the same issues and rules, not the same words.
Short rules to know cold
- Civil standard of proof: balance of probabilities (more likely than not). Criminal: beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Negligence needs: duty of care, a lapse below the required standard, causation, and damage that is not too remote.
- Contract needs: offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality and intention to create legal relations.
- Corporations are separate legal persons; sole proprietors and general partners are personally liable.
- Directors owe a fiduciary duty (honesty, good faith, the corporation's interests) and a duty of care.
- Employers need reasonable notice (or pay instead) to end employment without cause, and never less than the statutory minimum.
- Copyright arises on creation; patents and registered trademarks need an application; trade secrets stay protected only while secret.
Where this guide stops
- It teaches the rules and how to apply them. It does not contain answers to anyone's assignments, quizzes or case studies, and every fact pattern is newly written.
- It names only a few landmark cases that nearly every Canadian business law course teaches, and describes them in plain words.
- Dollar limits, notice periods and time limits are given as they commonly stand in Alberta. Statutes get amended, so check the current text for a real matter.
Exam format, weight and allowed aids differ between sections and terms. Check your own course outline.
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