Paula Schaefer
Associate Professor of Law
B.A. and J.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
Courses Taught
- Legal Profession
- Business Associations
About
For seven years, Professor Schaefer practiced in the area of commercial litigation in two international law firms, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. and Bryan Cave LLP. Her research and teaching are influenced by a practice that included business fraud claims, class action defense, fiduciary duty litigation, disputes among business owners, commercial lending and commercial real estate litigation, qui tam actions, and professional liability cases. In 2004, she joined the business school faculty at the University of Central Missouri where she taught undergraduate and graduate business law courses, including a popular graduate level business ethics course that she developed.
Professor Schaefer has received awards for articles concerning in house counsel’s cause of action for retaliatory discharge, business attorneys’ appropriate use of “loyal disclosure” to protect organizational clients, and the need for the law to be integrated into business ethics pedagogy. In her research, she continues to explore the issues of confidentiality and fiduciary duty of the business lawyer.