Business Associations

Agency and Partnership

I. Agency relationships

A. Creation
B. Types
C. Termination

II. Power of agent to bind principal

A. Authority
B. Apparent authority
C. Inherent agency power

III. Vicarious liability of principal for acts of agent

IV. Fiduciary duties between principal and agent

A. Duty of care
B. Duty of loyalty
C. Duty of obedience

V. Creation of partnerships

A. General partnerships
B. Limited partnerships
C. Limited liability partnerships

VI. Power and liability of partners

VII. Rights of partners among themselves

A. Profits and losses
B. Management and control
C. Duty of care
D. Duty of loyalty

VIII. Dissolution

A. Distinguished from winding up and termination
B. Rightful versus wrongful
C. General partnerships, limited partnerships, or limited liability partnerships

IX. Special rules concerning limited partnerships

A. Disclosure requirements
B. The control limitation
C. Economic rights of limited partners

Corporations and Limited Liability Companies

I. Formation of organizations

A. Articles of incorporation
B. Bylaws
C. Articles of organization; certificates of formation
D. Operating agreements

II. Pre-organization transactions

A. Promoters: contracts and fiduciary duties
B. Subscriptions for shares

III. Piercing the veil

IV. Financing the organization

A. Sources of finance
B. Securities issuance and characteristics
C. Dividends and distributions
D. Redemptions and repurchases

V. Management and control

A. Shareholders

1. Meetings: annual, notice, and quorum
2. Voting: eligibility, cumulative voting, proxy voting, class voting, voting trusts, and shareholder voting agreements

B. Directors

1. Meetings: quorum and notice
2. Action by written consent
3. Action by committee
4. Director’s objections to actions

C. Officers

1. Authority
2. Officer’s liability on corporate obligations

D. Members and managers

1. Authority
2. Liability
3. Powers

VI. Fiduciary duties

A. Directors, officers, and shareholders
B. Managers and members

VII. Close corporations and special control devices

A. Share transfer restrictions
B. Special agreements allocating authority
C. Resolutions of disputes and deadlocks
D. Option or buy/sell agreements

VIII. Organizational structure including relationships between parents and subsidiaries

A. Amendments

1. Articles of incorporation and bylaws
2. Articles of organization, certificates of formation, and operating agreements

B.  Mergers and consolidations
C. Sales of substantially all assets
D. Recapitalizations
E. Exchanges of securities
F. Dissolution of organization

IX. Shareholder and member litigation: direct, derivative, and class litigation