Role and Function of Law
LAW/421

In society as well as business, laws act as a set of rules that individuals must follow for the business or society to run effectively. Although all laws are used to govern behavior, they vary greatly on the types of behaviors that they govern. For instance, our Constitution is the supreme law of the United States and is responsible for governing the fundamental principles of our government, but it has limited powers which can regulate individuals and businesses (Melvin, 2011). The limitations the Constitution has on individuals does not make the powers it does have any less valuable to society. Without the Constitution, and the laws it supplies, we would not have the system of checks and balances we do that protects us, as citizens, from any branch of the government becoming too powerful and running our government as a dictatorship instead of a democracy. On the contrary, states are responsible for making and enforcing laws, known as “police powers” that protect the “health, safety and general welfare” of its citizens “with only general constitutional authorization” (Melvin, 2011, p. 28).

Because there are so many laws in America, it is sometimes beneficial to group laws according to their legal functions. Laws are “categorized into three general classifications: criminal law and civil law, substantive law and procedural law, and public law and private law” (Bushman, 2007, paragraph 6). These categories, however, are not mutually exclusive as a law may fit into more than one category. For instance, a criminal law would also fit into the category of public law.

While laws can act as ethical standards and provide rules of conduct, they also provide us with a way to enforce the rules, and settle disputes (Bushman, 2007). The Judicial branch of our government is charged with the job of interpreting the law, and the courts provide judgments on disputes based on these interpretations. There are two main types of courts: federal and state. If a law has been violated, or may have been violated, the matter can be settled through litigation or an alternate dispute resolution (ADR). ADR, such as mediation and arbitration, is the “process by which disputes involving individuals or businesses are resolved outside of the federal or state court system through the help of third parties” (Melvin, 2011, p. 90). There are advantages and disadvantages of both litigation and ADR, so the method used to settle any legal violation depends on the circumstances and the desired outcome. For instance, if the desired result is to settle a dispute but retain the business relationship, mediation would be a preferred resolution option because both parties would feel comfortable with the resolution while in litigation, one party would believe they were cheated.

Laws have been a vital component of my business experience. As a paralegal, I dealt with legal matters every day. My specialties were real estate, bankruptcy, and family law so I predominantly dealt with civil matters. The few interactions I had with criminal cases made me doubt our legal system and I chose to step away from handling those matters. I believe in our legal system, but I personally feel it is best to solve disputes outside a courthouse whenever possible. With my family law cases, I always found that parents who could agree on custody and child support themselves, were more likely to have a happy child, in comparison to the parents who used the courts to settle every visitation dispute. The attorneys I used to work for were also mediators, and one of them was also an arbitrator. I learned a great deal about alternate dispute resolution methods from both of them. I would sometimes sit in on mediations and have the opportunity to see them work, and fail, firsthand. What I learned at my time in that law office is that the law’s intent is more important than the law itself, the use of the legal system should always be a last resort, and that if a party is unwilling to compromise, no amount of negotiating will settle a dispute.

Laws play an important role in both our daily individual and business life. Laws, and the enforcement of laws, are necessary means to ensure a just, systematic, and advantageous society. Our society depends on laws to run efficiently and without them society and business as we know it would cease to exist as chaos would surely follow.