Using the Law for Competitive Advantage

by George J. Siedel

The law has become an enabler that allows firms to expand globally, develop entrepreneurial ventures, establish a customer-focused company, and create corporate values. Using the Law for Competitive Advantage reveals the link between business objectives and legal objectives and explains how the law can help create competitive advantage for a company. Drawing on the latest research and numerous examples from business, the author shows how to manage legal resources to gain an edge in the marketplace in a cost-effective manner. He tells how to reframe legal problems as business problems. And he explains how to use legal frameworks to create both value and values for the company. In addition, the book includes practical, hands-on tools that managers can use to deal with a variety of stakeholders and legal concerns.

206 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2002

About the author

George Siedel is the Williamson Family Professor of Business Administration and the Thurnau Professor of Business Law at the University of Michigan. He teaches negotiation at Michigan's Ross School of Business and around the world to business leaders, entrepreneurs, attorneys, physicians, athletic directors, and judges. He recently developed a free negotiation app: negotiationplanner.com.

Professor Siedel completed graduate studies at the University of Michigan and Cambridge University. He served as a visiting professor at Stanford University and Harvard University and as a Visiting Scholar at Berkeley. As a Fulbright Scholar, he held a Distinguished Chair in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Professor Siedel has received several national research awards including the Maurer Award, the Ralph Bunche Award, and the Hoeber Award. He has also received many teaching awards, including the 2014 Executive Program Professor of the Year Award from a consortium of 36 leading universities committed to international education.