Find a Business Organizations Lawyer

U.S. businesses are regulated by federal and state statutes, as well as local (county and city) regulations and various industry association regulations. Business organization laws are complex and vary from one region to another. They include such matters as taxation, shareholder issues, employment law, property law, energy and environmental law, zoning matters, export and import procedures, asset protection, as well as recent privacy and safety laws. The Uniform Commercial Code (adopted by all states) governs all business transactions (except maritime transportation of goods. Existing laws undergo frequent change, and new laws (such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which regulates oversight and disclosure of public company accounting) keep being added. As another example of evolving laws, most states have (since the late 1990s) enacted statutes authorizing corporate boards of directors to take into account all stakeholders' interests when making decisions affecting change of control or break-up of the organization. Continued... By Kathleen Goolsby