Business Law: A Comprehensive Overview Of Legal Disciplines And Compliance Strategies, Essay.

Research and advice are key skills of modern business professionals. You will be assessed on your research and problem solving skills and your ability to present your advice in a professional manner. You should assume that you are reporting to a business client who has asked you to provide a professional opinion. Any advice and explanations should be expressed in your own words and not simply copied from another source. Good explanations and summaries state the key information and omit information that is unimportant or irrelevant, so your ability to make intelligent decisions about what to include and what to exclude will be a key marking criterion. The format and presentation style of your assignment will also be assessed. Clients expect an advice to be clearly stated, consistently formatted and presented in a user-friendly style. You are allowed a lot of leeway in how you do that, but the marker will be assessing how successful you have been in your presentation. All students should ensure that basic QA features like spell-checking, page-numbering, and consistent headings are incorporated into their final submission.

1. Draw up a list of questions to ask your client in order to gather the information and instructions necessary for you to advise.
2. Conduct an interview with the client and take notes of your clients’ answers to the questions, including any follow-up queries to clarify the answers.
3. Write a record of the interview including the questions and the answers.
4. Research the law relevant to your advice.
5. Provide a written report to your supervising partner on your research, weighing up the alternatives for your client and providing a recommendation.
6. Provide an oral advice on the law (in plain language) to the client in the form of a
YouTube video, weighing up the alternatives and providing a recommendation

Importance of Complying with Business Law

Business Law is a broad area of law that regulates the creation of new business and help in solving problems that arise when existing business interacts with other companies, the public, and the government. It covers various legal disciplines such as real estate, tax, intellectual property, sales, bankruptcy, and employment among others. Therefore, new companies must comply with the law before the commencement of the business to avoid facing the long arm of the law. It is important to give your new venture best chance of success by answering the following business guiding question before starting.

Off course yes and that is what driving me towards business. I am ready to devote my time and energy to start and to build it. Again I know that it is important that I venture into something that I will enjoy doing.

No. I got laid off from my previous company, but I have good savings. Besides, I have a supportive spouse who is still employed and willing to support my business financially. On the other hand, I am also ready to borrow from the banks if it will be tight financially and if the enterprise will need much than what I expected.  

Yes, I am planning to do it alone only with the support of my family. I have worked in a business company for several years; hence I believe that I have got what it takes to start my own business. On the other hand, I am planning to apply for a business start-up program that trains people on how to become self-employed.

Yes, I have done some research on where to get customers for my products. Besides, I am also planning to do marking to help me weigh the demand. I have also been networking with various friends who can give me in a hand marketing of my products in different locations.

Yes, I have a rough draft business plan, but it is open for the amendment for any good advice I might receive from other business professionals. I believe that it the guides for me to follow for me to succeed in my venture. Moreover, I know that the plan will assist me in forecasting and cash flow analysis.

Yes, I have done some research to help me I identify my direct competitors and customers. I also have researched on the types of the products my competitors are offering, which I believe will assist me in advancing my products to attract more consumers. Moreover, I have known various places from where I will outsource my stock.

Key Questions to Answer Before Starting a Business

Yes, I have from my savings, but I do not think that it is enough for the business I intend to do. Therefore, I am of the opinion that I need to borrow some funds for top up. Besides, I am also expecting financial support from my spouse.

Yes, I have the name for my business that is self-explanatory to kind of business I am planning to do. I have further checked with the county clerks to confirm that the name does not resemble any business name in the county. And being that my plans are that I may take the company internationally, I also checked with the Secretary of State. I have also done state trademark search to see whether the name I have proposed is still in my name. I did all of these investigations to prevent any confusion from my customers when choosing my products.

Yes, I know some rules. For example, the company must get registered; I might need a lawyer to provide legal advice before signing a business contract, and to have worker’s insurance compensations scheme for the employees. Depending on the area of my work, I know that my company name could get registered as the federal trademark if the business happens to go regionally or internationally. I must also decide on how much personal liability I will need depending on my business risk

I will advertise my products through the use promotions, social multimedia, creating a brand name and place it in a strategic location. I will also network with the professional in public businesses, offer free products among others.

To my senior partner, I would like to bring to your attention on the kind of the legal information I provided to one of our customers that approached me for advice. The first discussion was about Sole proprietorship. A sole proprietorship is a business run by the owner. Therefore, the proprietor is also liable for the debts and fiscal responsibilities of the firm. Some of the businesses that can get referred as sole proprietor include; retail trade, a large corporation with workers, domestic business, and an individual consulting firm among others. The sole proprietors must file Schedule C or C-EZ (Form 1040), Net Profit or Loss from the business. Additionally, the business owner must also pay tax for self-employment on the net income as provided in Schedule C or F. Sole proprietor might also subtract one and a half of the SE tax on his Form 1040. To compute the tax of Self-employment, use Schedule SE. However, sole proprietor's taxes are not suspended from their industry revenues, so they would perform quarterly predictable tax payments when expecting to make profits. The estimated payments are the income and self-employment taxes for Medicare and Social Security.

Legal Disciplines that Regulate Businesses

On weighing up the realistic options open for the client, I provided some of the legal advice concerning being in a sole proprietorship or partnership. In a sole proprietorship, the business liability for debts is not the same as in other business forms like limited liability company (LLC) or cooperation. For example, in a limited liability company, the business and personal assets are kept separately; thus, making it difficult for any person to sue the owner and have them pay debts. On the other hand, in the case of sole proprietorship, there is no distinction between the proprietor and their business. It means that the owner is fully liable for the debts of their enterprise. A creditor can reach the owner's personal properties in a laws suit in case the business fails to pay the debt. Therefore, it means that the proprietor risks losing their properties. However, sole proprietors have other legal remedies open to them if their opinion is that the debt collection is unfair. Some of those remedies may comprise of invasion of property, defamation, abuse of process, Intentional infliction of emotional distress among others.

Consequently, the formation of partnership business falls under the Uniform Partnership Act § 101 (1994). It is a union between two or more people engaged in a trade where they distribute the profits and losses fractionally. The liability is shared among or between the partners. Although the individual may get sued independently for all the damages related to the unlawful act, partnership accord protects the associate for the part of damages in the surplus of his or her comparative share. In places where the Revised Uniform Partnership Act (RUPA) got adopted, an associate is jointly responsible for the debts and responsibilities of the partnership. Nonetheless, beforethe lender puts a judgment on an individual partner, some conditions have to be met. It may include the return of the unfulfilled court order of execution against the partnership. A court may give consent to a partnership creditor to proceed against a single partner in an attempt to satisfy the partnership's requirements. Furthermore, I also informed the client about the importance of knowing the codes of practice.

In response to the answers you provided, I have decided to discuss two forms of business with you, which are sole proctorship and partnership. A sole proprietor is a business run by the owner. Therefore, the owner is also liable for the debts and fiscal responsibilities of the industry. Otherwise, in some states, the sole proprietor liabilities can get controlled by the State law. Some of the businesses that sole proprietor can include; retail trade, a large corporation with workers, domestic business, and anindividual consulting firm among others. However, sole owner’s taxes are not suspended from their trade returns so they would perform quarterly estimated tax payments when expecting to make profits. The estimated payments are the income and self-employment taxes for Medicare and Social Security.  

Compliance Strategies for Business Owners

In a sole proprietorship, the business liability for debts is not the same as in other business forms like limited liability company (LLC) or cooperation. Additionally, in the sole proprietorship, there is no distinction between the owner and their business. It means that the owner is fully liable for the debts of their enterprise. A creditor can reach the owner's personal properties in a lawsuit in case the business fails to pay the debt. Therefore, it means that the proprietor risks losing their own properties. However, sole proprietors have some legal remedies open for them if their opinion is that, the debt collection is unfair. Some of those remedies are the invasion of property, defamation, abuse of process, Intentional infliction of emotional distress among others.

Consequently, a partnership is a union between two or more people engaged in a trade where they share the profits and losses fractionally. The liability is shared among or between the partners. Though the partner may get sued independently for all the damages related to an unlawful act, partnership accord protects an associate for the part of damages in the surplus of his or herfractional share. Nonetheless, before a creditor of the partnership put a judgment on an individual partner, some conditions have to be met. It may include the return of the unfulfilled court order of execution against the partnership. A court may give consent to a partnership creditor to proceed against a single partner in an attempt to satisfy the partnership's requirements.Furthermore, it is important to knowcodes of practice in the type of business you intend to operate. These practices are referenced in Regulations and Acts. Some of these codes of practice may include the practical advice and the general statements of principle for how the business should work, and the elaborated business practices where business must abide by specific standards.  It is a must to comply with all the instructions in the codes of practice and also train your staff to ensure that they understand hoe to comply with relevant codes. Therefore, it would be vital to cover the practice as part of your introduction program and hold a refresher guidance to ensure that everyone has understood the code of practice.

Conclusion and Recommendations

To conclude with, starting a business requires an individual to plan, make major financial decisions and completion of series of legal activities. It important that anybody willing to start a business should have vast knowledge on the list of federal, state, local permits and licenses to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law. Moreover, it is vital to do a thorough research about the legal business structure to help you decide on which form of ownership best fit you. Finally, it is also essential to contact your local SBA office for more knowledge about how SBA can help. After listening and analyzing client's view, I, therefore, recommended Sole proprietorship business. A sole proprietor has the complete control of the business and decision-making. On the other hand, a sole proprietor gets exempted from paying corporate tax. The business requires minimal legal costs to form a sole proprietorship, and there are few formal business requirements. Moreover, the primary legal documents necessary for the formation are the DBA filling and the business license. The company does not require contact as in the case of other forms of business. Further, it is the most common and simplest form of business to start.

A Cases

Georgantas v. Country Mut. Ins. Co., 570 N.E.2d 870 (Ill. App. Ct. 1991)

Cashco Oil Co. v. Moses, 605 F. Supp. 70 (N.D. Ill. 1985)

Holberg& Co. v. Citizens National Assurance Co., 856 S.W.2d 515 (Tx, App. 1993)

Pinkerton's, Inc. v. Superior Court, 49 Cal. App.4th 1342, 57 Cal. Rptr.2d 356 (1996)

Vernon, supra; Leannais v. Cincinnati, Inc., 565 F.2d 437 (7th Cir. 1977)

Welco Indus., Inc. v. Applied Cos., 67 Ohio St.3d 344, 617 N.E.2d 1129 (1993)

Providence Washington Ins. Co. vs. Valley Forge. Ins. Co., 42 Cal.App.4th 1194, 50 Cal. Rptr.2d 192 (1996)

Ideal Lease Service, Inc. v. Amoco Production Co., 662 S.W.2d 951, 952 (Tex. 1984).

Mustang Tractor & Equip. v. Cornett, 747 S.W.2d 33 (Tex. App. 1988)  

B Legislation Uniform Partnership Act § 101 (1994)