Running head: ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF LAW PAPER

Role and Functions of Law Paper

Shawnaya Webb
Professor: NEHA BHATIA
LAW/421
June 28, 2015

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF LAW PAPER

Role and Functions of Law Paper

The following paragraphs will characterize the objective and aspect of law in business
and humanity as well as present an example of how functions and role of law are applied in my
current job. First, the definition of law in my own words can be described as a set of regulations
and principles that are used by a country to be applied to people based on social behavioral
reasoning and serve as ethical standards in order to promote justice to the society. These
regulations and principles are established by the government of a country and practiced by
lawyers and judges in a court.
One of the mayor functions of law is to intervene when the rights of an individual have
been violated and to provide a solution based on fairness. As law plays an important part in the
society and business, regulations and rules have to be carefully studied and examined before
implemented. Legal decisions can become very complex to make as they affect social
communities, politics and business. Law can be classified in the following categories; the
criminal law which deals with enforces penalty for committed crimes, civil law which takes care
of solving family issues, disagreements with contracts and property ownership. Substantive law
establishes the rights and duties that are necessary to prove a legal case while the procedural law
handles the creation of procedures that should be followed within the substantive law. The
private law gets involved with issues between individuals and between companies, and the public
law handles issues between the state and individuals. In addition to bringing justice to society,
other important functions of law involves the protection of human rights and to maintain control
in social, business and politics issues by setting standard of behaviors and rules as well as ethical
guidelines with the best interest of looking after the security of the individual or entity.

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF LAW PAPER

The government is in charge of incorporating these functions into our society and
companies by using its authority to not only tmaintain an order, but to enforce it whenever a rule
or regulation is broken by imposing a penalty that is already established. The objective of these
functions is to maintain peace and a safe environment among individuals and to promote
integrity within our community. Imagine a country where law did not exist. There would not be
any sense of direction or orientation for individuals in a community and there would not be any
control for human behavior.
Law has different roles in our community with the objective of maintaining order and to
establish what is correct and incorrect and to ensure compliance of duties and obligations in the
society and businesses. The three different roles in todays law are criminal and civil law,
substantive and procedural law, and public and private law. As described above, each one of
these is committed to assist individuals, government, and business by providing rules to protect
the rights and to establish what is the most appropriate action to follow. In business, it is
important to recognize that the law also serves as an important catalyst for commerce by
promoting good faith dealing among merchants and consumers and giving some degree of
reliability that can be considered in business planning and commercial transactions (Melvin,
2011). Making legal decisions in business requires a lot of analysis and support from a legal
advisor to provide the correct action that will reduce liability to the company without affecting
the business image and operations. In my current job, there is a full-time lawyer who is in
charge of providing legal advice and provides recommendations regarding documents that need
to be signed such as contracts, internal policies to be revised before approval and published, and
other employee related documents. It is important to consider the examination of internal
policies and regulations in a business to ensure they are in compliance with the established labor

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF LAW PAPER

laws from the government. These policies must be written and available to all employees who
are responsible for reviewing and understanding each one of them. Orientation is also important
from the employer to ensure employees follow these policies and should obtain a signed
document that confirms they have been read and understood. This practice must be implemented
in a consistent manner in case there is a violation of any policy already explained in order to
apply the necessary disciplinary action to the employee and thus the employer is safeguarding
the companys reputation and compliance with the law. It also works for the benefit of each
employee in cases when they find the employer has failed to comply with a policy and should
file a claim. This rule also applies when managing contracts with external clients or suppliers
when dealing with services or products provided and which must be established in a written
document to facilitate the negotiation and with a signature that confirms an agreement between
the parties involved.
In general, from the creation of a business and throughout the process of its operations,
legal functions and role play an important part as they must work in a parallel manner with the
objective of assisting and improving business operations and reduce the liability. Also, it will
assist managers and executives with the decision-making process when legal decisions are
required to be made as to establish what is correct or incorrect regarding employee matters as
well as matters with the local government agencies, suppliers, and contractors.

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF LAW PAPER

Reference:
Colander, D.C. (2010). Macroeconomics (8th ed.) Ch. 11, 13 &14.
Melvin, S.P. (2011). The Legal Environment of Business. New York, New York: McGraw
Hill/Irwin.