1) You are an adult friend of a sixty-five year old male, James, who lives next door. James is friendly and kind to you and your family. James has become increasingly forgetful of facts and names lately and you once found him lost in another part of your familiar neighborhood. On the other hand, James has significant periods of mental clarity, living independently and performing complex mental tasks. For example, he profitably buys and sells collectibles at flea markets and on the Internet. James's family lives far away, and may not know that James is possibly showing early signs of mental instability. You know that a court can determine if someone is mentally incompetent and appoint a guardian to represent that individual. Only then can the guardian enter into binding legal obligations on behalf of the mentally incompetent person. From the perspective of contractual legal capacity, explain the advantages and drawbacks of declaring someone like James incompetent.

2) You are the buyer of a large quantity of ball bearings. You sign a contract drafted by the seller which states you will "pay $500,000 for shipment for agreed goods arriving to New York next year on ship MV Liberty." Afterward you realize that "Liberty" is a common name in shipping and are concerned that a risk exists that you will be forced to pay for different goods that arrive on a ship with a similar name. Evaluate this risk and articulate ways that the contract could have been drafted to prevent a problem.

3) You are an entrepreneur who has developed a new kind of electric beard trimmer that trims beards more closely and more quickly than other trimmers on the market. SuperShaver, Inc. is an experienced manufacturer of facial shaving products and learns about your new invention from a trade show. SuperShaver is interested in contracting for the intellectual property rights to your shaver. A representative of SuperShaver wants to offer you a percentage of the profits and is willing to agree to a deal right now with an oral agreement. Assuming the terms are reasonably fair, evaluate the positive and negative contractual implications of accepting SuperShaver's oral offer.

4) You are the owner of a rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL-1. The car is in poor condition, and you want to return the car to its original condition in two months for eventual resale. You contact Dominic's Restorations, Inc., and speak with Dominic, the owner, who is a renowned specialist in repairing Chevrolet Corvettes. Dominic tells you that he would welcome the opportunity to work on such a rare automobile. Dominic also says there is a possibility that he would not able to repair the entire car within the two month time period. Instead, he would like to reserve the right to delegate the obligation to another company in case he can't meet the deadline. Weigh the pros and cons of granting Dominic the right to delegate the work.