Business law is the law that governs what happens with commercial matters, and there are two main types: regulation of commercial entities and regulation of commercial transactions. Laws have evolved over centuries, and have had to adapt to changes in technology and society.
Especially in today’s modern workplace, it is vital for any company with even one employee to stay abreast of current employment laws. Are you required to offer health insurance or workers’ comp insurance? Has your business discriminated against an employee, or stood by while one employee committed sexual harassment against another? There are many areas where your company could face major financial liability, not to mention the potential loss of reputation when treating employees unfairly.
There are more and more occasions where immigration law becomes an issue in modern businesses. Temporary employees, full-time employees, and special event workers may be from other countries. You need to know if you are following the law when dealing with foreign labor.
The Code deals with everything from contracts to fraud to leases to secure transactions. Ambitious in its aim to consolidate the laws in one place, the Code is actually quite complex. Lawyers spend a lot of time learning about how to apply the UCC to actual business practice and can give businesses advice on how to stay compliant with the laws while staying productive.
Whether for a property lease or for a product sale, contracts help make sure that the parties who are making a deal are on the same page. Attorneys can help make sure your best interests are represented when your business enters into a contract
Antitrust laws help make sure the different businesses in a marketplace are operating on a level playing field. Some companies use unfair or deceptive practices in order to get a larger share of the market, and it may be difficult to identify unfair behavior in your own company. A business lawyer can help you make sure that your business is operating ethically while helping protect you from unfair actions by other companies.
Businesses may need to patent unique products in order to protect that work in the marketplace. Otherwise, anyone could sell a product your company worked hard to make. Copyright laws will protect creative work, and you will need to file for protection if your business is identified by a unique logo.