Business does not exist separately from the state legislation because any company that wants to succeed cannot ignore the country’s laws. Hence, lawyers and business people should collaborate to ensure a positive customer experience, the non-violation of employees’ rights, and a firm’s prosperity. This essay aims to describe and analyze three articles from professional online magazines related to the topic of legal function in businesses. The first post discusses the general role of legislation for companies, the second presents an overview of legal requirements for small businesses, and the third demonstrates the case of a Californian firm during the pandemic.
The first article, titled “How does the legal function demonstrate value to the business?” was published in Forbes magazine. The author, Mark Cohen, claims that lawyers must adopt a business mindset to serve their customers well in commerce and marketing. He presents five main ways to turn legal assistance into “a profit center” and “enterprise value collaborator” (Cohen). Firstly, law firms must respond to business needs by distributing roles, cooperating with digital service providers, offering self-help tools, and creating a client-centered platform. Secondly, it is essential for legal corporations to develop parameters to measure customer satisfaction, which is the key to “sustainability, scalability, profitability, and brand loyalty” (Cohen). Thirdly, the author suggests embracing the power of data in the digital age by becoming proficient in business language, data analysis, talent acquisition, risk management, and other processes. Fourthly, law firms should transform from opportunity blockers to value-creators. Lastly, the success of a legal function will be determined by how well it treats its clients. Overall, this post highlights that attorneys are recommended to develop a belief system of agility and fluidity to synergize with their business clients.
The second article, titled “Legal requirements to start a small business in 2022,” was published in Forbes magazine. It presents the guideline for opening a firm by outlining the types of business structures and steps of company registration. According to Crail et al., for-profit organizations have four primary categories: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation. As the titles suggest, the first is a firm owned by one person, while the second is a cooperation between two or several partners. LLC is a form of membership that does not involve personal business liability and fourth is a well-structured company with shared responsibilities. Moreover, U.S. legislation requires for-profit organizations to apply for trademarks, register their official names, acquire tax identification numbers, and obtain a license (Crail et al.). Since opening a new business venture, regardless of its size, is a risky journey, insurance has become an essential component of any business. The authors describe six main types of insurance: general liability, professional liability, commercial property, workers’ compensation, and auto liability (Crail et al.). Overall, this post comprehensively summarizes small business legal registration and protection stages.
The third article, “Lessons from one law firm’s pre-pandemic shift to hybrid work,” was published in Harvard Business Review. The author focuses on the Californian law firm Hanson Bridgett, which like any business during the COVID-19 crisis, had to ask most of its employees to work remotely. Interestingly, the company leadership did not experience any significant challenges, indicating that the service provision sphere could thrive in the harsh conditions of lockdown that were detrimental for some businesses. The success of Hanson Bridgett amid the pandemic was determined by the fact that the company started to convert to a remote mode two years before the emergence of the novel coronavirus (Sher). The firm wanted to give its employees more freedom, and this decision resulted in a substantial rise in productivity. The key lessons that the author inferred from this scenario are the importance of prioritizing culture, investing in information technologies, careful planning, as well as articulating business metrics and goals. The legal significance of this case is that businesses have a broad range of opportunities in the modern world of digitation to protect their workers’ privileges and rights.
The three articles discussed in this essay provided a powerful lesson for understanding the relationships between legislation and business. Since the selected posts were written by the authors of such professional platforms as Forbes and Harvard Business Review, the ideas and data are likely reliable and valid. The first article showed that law firms must adopt a business mindset and client-centered approach when working with for-profit organizations. This measure is crucial to stop the negative pattern of a legal function impeding the prosperity of businesses. The second article discussed necessary steps and recommendations for small businesses regarding legislative obligations. The information presented by the authors was significant since individuals having an idea to start a new venture sometimes need a succinct description of initial state law requirements. The third article presented the case of a law firm that was able to address the issue of employees’ rights and privileges by offering them the option of remote work. Intuitively, working from home gives freedom of location and more time for self-development and self-care.
Works Cited
Cohen, Mark A. “How does the legal function demonstrate value to business?” Forbes, 2021. Web.
Crail, Chauncey, et al. “Legal requirements to start a small business in 2022.” Forbes, 2022.
Sher, Robert. “Lessons from one law firm’s pre-pandemic shift to hybrid work.” Harvard Business Review, 2021.