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Functions of Law

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Functions of Law
J. Ryan Stewart
LAW421
August 8, 2012

Functions of Law
The functions and roles of law in business and society have been set forth by those who are put in a position of authority for help manage the behavior and actions of a community or organization. Merriam-Webster online defines law as “a binding custom or practice of a community: a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority” (Merriam-Webster Online, 2012). This paper will explain how this is applied in business and society and provide an example of how this author has been impacted by these laws in a professional setting.
Common sense is what drives laws to be enacted. Many say that laws are common sense in official form with consequences for violating the laws. Laws serve a number of purposes in business and society. Laws regulate the actions of individuals and groups. Contradictions can exist between different levels of law. In the case of Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. Liggett stated that the marketing and advertising was lawful under state law but the federal government has regulated the advertising of certain products such as tobacco and the federal law supersedes the state law regulating the same category (Melvin, 2011). The state and federal government makes laws to protect the public from potential harm which is why the federal law states that tobacco companies must disclose the harm of using their product on the package. This gives the consumer the choice to use that product or not. The disclosure of this information is vital because not everyone knows the dangers of using tobacco products.
Before the regulations on advertising were put in place the individual or company selling a product could say almost anything to entice the buyer. This was common practice in the days of the traveling salesmen who sold

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