Living in a country with such laws keeps the country functioning smoothly. They standardize the behaviour of all citizens and provide guidance on how to treat everyone who lives here. In short, they keep society working. The result of not having laws will be a life of chaos where there will be more odds to live properly.
The law gives everyone living in that country a guide on how to act that will be acceptable to the whole society. Otherwise, conflicts between communities and social groups will be a daily occurrence.
Many aspects of the law help the way society, politics and economic work. In the case of businesses, business law is clearly the branch of legal practise that addresses these concerns and helps businesses run smoothly and move forward in an orderly manner.
Why is business law important?
It is impossible to understand the mere idea of doing business in a place without laws. Understanding the rule of law will help you make the best decisions when it comes to running and managing a business. A law that is to be obeyed by everyone makes everyone’s doctrine equal under it and there is no reality above it. While clear, understandable rules must be followed, you can be sure that what applies to you applies to everyone else.
Without the law, you would never know what the other party does or is about to do and the business plan would be quite unpredictable and chaotic. Others will be constantly thinking about how to take advantage of you and your business, or conspiring to get rid of your competition on your own, never fearing the consequences. Life, as we know it, will become impossible, and run a business in that environment, not anything that anyone wants.
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What are the risks of not following business laws?
Failure to comply with or not complying with federal, state, or local laws will have serious and immediate consequences for your business. That is why it is so important for you to be aware of the laws pertaining to your business and how to comply with them. Failure to do so will result in penalties, audit lawsuits and other actions that could lead to the dissolution of your business.
What is the purpose of business law?
The objectives of business law are mainly four:
- To maintain order
- To protect rights and freedoms
- To establish standards
- Resolve Disputes
How does business law achieve these objectives?
By establishing guidelines identifying the types of behaviour that are acceptable, by establishing legal mechanisms that determine how disputes should be resolved and ensuring that everyone is protected under all constitutional rights.
This means that all businesses, regardless of their size, must comply with the same legal obligations. This is where the expertise of a professional lawyer comes in handy.
With the help of a legal expert, businesses can ensure compliance with all legal fundamentals, including contracts, intellectual property law, corporate law, tax law, employment law, antitrust and competition laws, and any law governing management and operation.
Types of business law
Here are some common types of business laws:
Employment law
Especially in today’s modern workplace, it is very important for any company with any employee to stay abreast of current employment laws. Do you need health insurance or workers’ insurance?
Has your business discriminated against an employee, or stood by an employee when he or she sexually harassed another? There are many areas where your company may face a large financial responsibility, not to mention the potential damage to reputation when dealing unfairly with employees.
Take immigration
There are occasions wherein in modern industries, immigration law becomes an issue. Full-time employees, Temporary employees and special event workers may be from other or different countries. You need to know if you are following the law when working with foreign labour.
Consumer Goods Sales
The Uniform Commercial Code contains laws governing financial transactions in the United States. This code covers everything from contracts to fraud to leases to secure transactions. Aspiring to unify the law in one place, this code is really very complex. Lawyers spend a lot of time learning how to apply UCC to actual business practice and can advise businesses on how to comply with the law.
Draft agreement / negotiation / lawsuit
Whether a property is for lease or to sell a product, the agreement helps ensure that the parties to the deal are on the same page. An attorney can help ensure that your best interests are represented when your business enters into a contract.
Distrust
Anti-trust legislation helps ensure that different businesses in the market operate on a level playing field. Some companies use inappropriate or deceptive practices to gain a large market share, and it can be difficult to identify unfair behaviour in your own company. A professional lawyer can help you make sure your business is being run ethically while protecting you from unfair actions by other companies.
Intellectual property
Businesses may need to patent unique products to secure that function in the market. Otherwise, your company can sell any product by working hard to build it. Copyright laws will protect creative work, and you will need to file for protection if your business is identified by a unique logo.
Tax
Businesses may have to pay and/or figure out many types of taxes.
- Income tax for the company’s profits, which may be paid as personal income tax by sole proprietorship or single-person LLC or partnership business tax returns. Partners who make a profit from the business must also report that income in person.
- Sales tax on services and/or products. Each state has different rules and there can be more difficulties when selling in a state line. If your business has a state income tax, you also need to have a system to collect, report and pay the tax collected on a regular basis.
- Property tax on any real estate owned by your business. You can pay capital gains tax if you sell a business-owned property.
- Self-employment tax, so business owners will still pay in Social Security and Medicare. Usually, employers take that tax from their employees.
- Social Employment or payroll taxes, including fading taxes for Social Security and Medicare and workers’ compensation taxes.
- Dividend tax on corporate shareholders. This is a type of income tax that is based on the profit earned from the business.
- Excise taxes on some of the products your business uses, such as fuel.
Bankruptcy
Sometimes businesses are forced into a bad situation due to circumstances beyond their control. There are a variety of options, with different requirements and filings. Professional lawyers can help find the best solution to what seems like an impossible problem and will have experience with the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
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Examples of business law
Here are some examples of how an attorney can help your business.
Business formation
A business law attorney can advise you on how to design and register your company when you start your company. You need to choose the structure of your business and decide how and where your business will run. Your attorney will help ensure that your business is safe from scratch.
Agreements
Unless you have a little experience with legal terminology you cannot understand all the complex terms of a contract. Sometimes the parties will try to take advantage of you by inserting clauses that are against your best interests or by changing the terms of the agreement. Your attorney will ensure that your rights and interests are protected.
Lawsuit
Many businesses do not consider involving an attorney until the case is settled, but having an attorney can help you avoid many lawsuits by helping you run your business. Sometimes lawsuits are inevitable, and your attorney will work to reduce the damage to your business. You can negotiate a settlement or go to trial and deny liability altogether, and your attorney will help you go through the complicated process of trial proceedings.
