Business law
Business organizations
Basic forms:
Sole proprietorship
Corporation
Partnership (General · Limited · LLP)
Cooperative
USA:
Business trust · LLC · LLLP Series LLC Delaware corporation Nevada corporation
Commonwealth/Ireland/UK:
Limited company (By shares · By guarantee) (Public · Proprietary)
Civil law countries:
AB · AG · ANS · A/S · A/S
K.K. · N.V. · OY · S.A. · GmbH
European Company Statute
Doctrines
Corporate governance
Limited liability · Ultra vires
Business judgment rule
De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel
Piercing the corporate veil
Related areas of law
Contract · Civil procedure

Business organizations is an area of law that covers the broad array of rules governing the formation and operation of different kinds of entities by which individuals can organize to do business. The term is also used to describe the entities themselves. A variety of other terms are used fairly interchangeably to describe this area, including business associations, business forms, and business entities. Reference to a "business" entity usually (though not always) indicates that entity's status as for-profit, as opposed to non-profit. Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... Commercial law or business law is the body of law which governs business and commerce and is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals both with issues of private law and public law. ... A sole proprietorship, or simply proprietorship, is a type of business entity which legally has no separate existence from its owner. ... Corporate redirects here. ... A partnership is a type of business entity in which partners share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which all have invested. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... A limited partnership is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership, except that in addition to one or more general partners (GPs), there are one or more limited partners (LPs). ... A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a form of business organization combining elements of partnerships and corporations. ... Co-op redirects here. ... A Massachusetts business trust or MBT is a legal trust set up for the purposes of business in the state of Massachusetts. ... A limited liability company (denoted by L.L.C. or LLC) is a legal form of business company in the United States offering limited liability to its owners. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A Series LLC is a special form of a Limited liability company that provides extra protection for personal assets comprised of multiple business entities. ... A Delaware corporation is a corporation chartered in the U.S. state of Delaware. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nevada. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Limited liability company. ... A limited company by shares (limited or Ltd. ... In British or Irish company law, a Limited Company is a person on its own right. ... The initials PLC after a UK or Irish company name indicate that it is a public limited company, a type of limited company whose shares may be offered for sale to the public. ... A Proprietary limited company or abbreviated as under Australian law is a business structure that has at least one shareholder with a limited number of shares. ... Civil law or continental law is the predominant system of law in the world, with its origins in Roman law, and sets out a comprehensive system of rules, usually codified, that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for a corporation, i. ... The German term Aktiengesellschaft (IPA /aktsiəngəzεlʃaft/) (abbreviated AG) means a corporation which is limited by shares, , owned by shareholders. ... An ansvarlig selskap is a Norwegian personal responsibility company model, mainly used in small-to-medium businesses, which translates directly into Responsible Company. This reflects that the participants - or owners - are personally responsible for any outstanding debts the company would aquire. ... An Aktieselskab (abbreviated A/S) is the Danish name for a stock-based corporation. ... An aksjeselskap is the Norwegian term for a stock-based corporation. ... Business corporation ) is a type of corporation ) defined under Japanese law. ... The term Naamloze Vennootschap (usually abbreviated NV) is the Dutch terminology for a public limited liability company. ... Osakeyhtiö, directly translated as share corporation, is the Finnish equivalent of Limited company (Ltd or LLC) or Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH). ... S.A. is the abbreviation of Société Anonyme in French, Spółka Akcyjna in Polish, Sociedad Anónima in Spanish, Sociedade Anónima in Portuguese, or Naamloze Venootschap (N.V.) in Dutch, generally designating corporations in various countries. ... Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH or GesmbH) is a type of legal entity created in Germany in 1892. ... The Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Company of the European Union (adopted October 8, 2001; OJ L 294, 10 November 2001, pp. ... Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled. ... Limited liability (LL) is liability that is limited to a partner or investors investment. ... Ultra vires is a Latin phrase that literally means beyond the power. ... The business judgment rule is a case law-derived concept in Corporations law whereby a court will refuse to review the actions of a corporations board of directors in managing the corporation unless there is some allegation of conduct that (1) violates (a) the directors duty of care, (b... De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel are both terms that are used by courts to describe circumstances in which is a business organization that has failed to become a de jure corporation (a corporation by law) will nonetheless be treated as a corporation, thereby shielding shareholders from liability. ... The corporate law concept piercing (Lifting) the corporate veil describes a legal decision where an officer, director, or shareholder of a corporation is held liable for the debts of the corporation despite the general principle that those persons are immune from suits in contract or tort that otherwise would only... A contract is a legally binding exchange of promises or agreement between parties. ... Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a civil action, as opposed to a criminal action). ... Equality and the balancing of interests under law is symbolised by a blindfold and weighing scales For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ... Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business. ... A for-profit organization is an organization whose primary objective is the generation of profit. ... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ...

Common types

The law of business organizations originally derived from the common law of England, but has evolved significantly in the Twentieth Century. In common law countries today, the most commonly addressed forms are: This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ...

• The sole proprietorship
• The partnership, sometimes called a "general partnership".
• The limited partnership (LP).
• The limited liability partnership (LLP).
• The corporation (Inc.,Co.,Corp.).
• The limited liability company (LLC, Ltd.).

Less commonly used business forms include the limited liability limited partnership (LLLP), the Series LLC, and the limited company (LC). The proprietary limited company is a statutory business form unique to Australia. A sole proprietorship, or simply proprietorship, is a type of business entity which legally has no separate existence from its owner. ... A partnership is a type of business entity in which partners share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which all have invested. ... A limited partnership is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership, except that in addition to one or more general partners (GPs), there are one or more limited partners (LPs). ... A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a form of business organization combining elements of partnerships and corporations. ... Corporate redirects here. ... A limited liability company (denoted by L.L.C. or LLC) is a legal form of business company in the United States offering limited liability to its owners. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A Series LLC is a special form of a Limited liability company that provides extra protection for personal assets comprised of multiple business entities. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Limited liability company. ... A Proprietary limited company or abbreviated as under Australian law is a business structure that has at least one shareholder with a limited number of shares. ...

Other types of business organisations, such as cooperatives, credit unions and publicly owned enterprises, can be established with purposes that parallel, supersede, or even replace the profit maximization mandate of business corporations. Co-op redirects here. ... A credit union is a co-operative financial institution that is owned, controlled and administered by its members. ... In economics, profit maximization is the process by which a firm determines the price and output level that returns the greatest profit. ...

Other business forms are available in civil law countries, such as the German Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH) and Aktiengesellschaft (AG); and the S.A., a form used in a number of countries which translates from various languages into the equivalent of anonymous society or anonymous company. Civil law or continental law is the predominant system of law in the world, with its origins in Roman law, and sets out a comprehensive system of rules, usually codified, that are applied and interpreted by judges. ... Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH or GesmbH) is a type of legal entity created in Germany in 1892. ... The German term Aktiengesellschaft (IPA /aktsiÉ™ngÉ™zεlʃaft/) (abbreviated AG) means a corporation which is limited by shares, , owned by shareholders. ... S.A. is the abbreviation of Société Anonyme in French, Spółka Akcyjna in Polish, Sociedad Anónima in Spanish, Sociedade Anónima in Portuguese, or Naamloze Venootschap (N.V.) in Dutch, generally designating corporations in various countries. ...

Attributes

As theorists such as Ronald Coase have pointed out, all business organizations represent an attempt to avoid certain costs associated with doing business. Each is meant to facilitate the contribution of specific resources - investment capital, knowledge, relationships, and so forth - towards a venture which will prove profitable to all contributors. Ronald Coase (born December 29, 1910) is a British economist. ...

Except for the partnership, all business forms are designed to provide limited liability to both members of the organization and external investors. Business organizations originated with agency law, which permits an agent to act on behalf of a principal, in exchange for the principal assuming equal liability for the wrongful acts committed by the agent. For this reason, all partners in a typical general partnership may be held liable for the wrongs committed by one partner. Limited liability (LL) is liability that is limited to a partner or investors investment. ... Agency is an area of Commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual tripartite set of relationships when an Agent is authorised to act on behalf of another (called the Principal) to create a legal relationship with a Third Party. ...

Those forms that provide limited liability are able to do so because the state provides a mechanism by which businesses that follow certain guidelines will be able to escape the full liability imposed under agency law. The state provides these forms because it has an interest in the strength of the companies that provide jobs and services therein, but also has an interest in monitoring and regulating their behaviour.

Business organizations as an area of study

Law schools typically offer either a single upper level course on business organizations, or offer several courses covering different aspects of this area of law. The area of study examines issues such as how each major form of business entity may be formed, operated, and dissolved; the degree to which limited liability protects investors; the extent to which a business can be held liable for the acts of an agent of the business; and the structures established by governments to monitor the buying and selling of ownership interests in large corporations. // A law school is an institution where future lawyers obtain legal degrees. ... Agency is an area of law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual relationship between at least two parties in which one, the principal, authorizes the other, the agent, to represent her or his legal interests and to perform legal acts that bind the principal. ...

The basic theory behind all business organizations is that, by combining certain functions within a single entity, a business (usually called a firm by economists) can operate more efficiently, and thereby realize a greater profit. Governments seek to facilitate investment in profitable operations by creating rules that protect investors in a business from being held personally liable for debts incurred by that business, either through mismanagement, or because of wrongful acts. It has been suggested that The Firm be merged into this article or section. ... Debt is that which is owed. ...

See also

• Not-for-profit corporation

A Not-for-profit corporation is a corporation created by statute, government or judicial authority that does not issue stock. ...

External links

• Choosing A Form For Your Business
• Business Entity Matrix