BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTER

BUSINESS LAW RESEARCH GUIDE

This research guide is directed at the primary functions of business and industry in areas such as structure, solvency, liability and regulation. Legal matters relating to ethics, transparency and social issues are addressed in the Ethics Research Guide. Social issues and environmental issues, although increasingly important, are only addressed indirectly where they occur in broad works, databases, or collections of Web links.For additional information, Ask a BIC Librarian.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Black's Law Dictionary (Fondren Library KF156 .B53) This is the classic law dictionary.
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Business and the law (Fondren Library KF889 .L48) Business law is explained using common language.
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Business Lawyer (via the ABI/Inform database, SMU Community Only) This journal provides full-text in-depth articles that often review the current status of prevalent issues. Published by the ABA.
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Hastings Business Law Journal Assembled by exemplary students at the University of California Hastings College of Law, this journal provides thoughtful researched coverage of business law issues.
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Smith and Roberson’s business law (NetLibrary) This book provides comprehensive coverage of business law including ethics, legal process, constitutional law, administrative law, and criminal law.
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Texas Journal of Business Law This is the official publication of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. Abstracts of recent and forthcoming articles are available to non-members. This is a good place to start exploring recent legal events.

West’s business law : text & cases (Fondren Library KF888 .C55) This is a classic book covering essential business law.
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BUSINESS STRUCTURE & LEGAL STATUS

Business Laws (Created by multiple agencies in the Federal Government) This is a business advisor site with information about basic business legal structures, intellectual property, regulatory matters and more.

Cornell Law School - Legal Information Institute: Corporations A useful compendium of legal resources and links to other sites specifically for corporate law.

Internal Revenue Service The IRS provides in depth information about the tax procedures for each type of business structure.

Special Structures Business.gov provides brief descriptions of Professional Service Corporation, Limited Partnership, and Non-Profit Corporation.

Four Steps to Starting a Business in Texas This state Web site takes the reader through the steps necessary to establish a business as a legal entity. Basic information is provided about the structures available for a business.

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SOLVENCY

Accounting from NOLO This article provides an explanation of cash versus accrual accounting with information about tax consequences.

American Bankruptcy Institute Use the "Online Resources" link to find statistics, current news, and recent court decisions.

Sarbanes-Oxley Rulemaking and Reports Press releases, FAQs, rulemaking and special studies that interpret the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are codified on the SEC website.

U.S. Trustee Program This is the Department of Justice unit that oversees bankruptcy proceedings. It contains useful information about the basics of bankruptcy and official statistics.

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INTERNATIONAL

Center for Transnational Law This site contains links to country law sites, international courts, and a wide variety of other useful international business law sites.

Institute of World Business Law Intervention in current policy arenas are documented here at the Web site of the International Chamber of Commerce. This provide a good starting point for investigating international issues.

Understanding international business and financial transactions (Law Library KF390.B8 F75) A widely-traveled international business law specialist provides insight into business process and taxation in the international arena.
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LIABILITY

Insuring the Bottom Line: How to protect your company from liabilities, catastrophes, and other business risks (NetLibrary) This book explores protection for the officers of the company, employees, and assets. (SMU Community Only)

Cornell Law School - Legal Information Institute Uniform Laws This site not only has the text of the Uniform Commercial Code, but a set of links from each section of the Code to corresponding state legislation. A link is also provided to an explanation of "uniform laws".

Corporate governance handbook : developments in best practices, compliance, and legal standards (Fondren Library HD2741 .B6976)
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LexisNexis Academic This database provides access to a wide range of news, business articles, legal articles, and reference information and is also a major source for legal research. Choose "Legal Research" then try "Law Reviews". (SMU Community Only)

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REGULATION

Federal Register Contains the status of new laws and regulations. Links also found here to other important Federal documents.

Federal Communications Law Journal (Indiana University School of Law) Articles found here provide perspective on current communications technology issues and trends.

Federal Trade Commission Useful resources at this site include regulatory information about competition, mergers, and major industries. Using the site search capability can assist in locating industry-specific enforcement actions and issues.

National Labor Relations Board The NLRB website provides a "Basic Guide to the National Labor Relations Act " (highlighted text on the main page) and the outcomes of NLRB decisions plus other useful publications.

Securities Law This is a commercial site containing links to current articles. Scroll to the bottom to find the link to "Law and Compliance".

United States Department of Justice Publications Publications of two divisions, Antitrust and Environment, may be of particular interest to business law issues.

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SEARCH ENGINES

Google UncleSam This is a specialized search engine that searches federal, state and local government Web information.

Internet Public Library (IPL) - Law IPL furnishes a useful collection of starting points for all types of law as well as references to related subject materials on the periphery of law.

FindLaw.com FindLaw is a search engine for legal information that includes many useful business law items including links to common business legal forms and information particularly useful to small business.

Hieros Gamos Click on the "Law Business Center".

LawCrawler This search engine provides both a search interface and a topical interface. It is similar to FindLaw.com but provides an alternative interface.

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PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

ABA Business Law Section This Section publishes a variety of free items along with the journals: Business Law Quarterly and Business Law Today from which individual issues may be purchased online.

American Intellectual Property Law Association This is a specialized bar association. Under the tab "Educational Materials" there is a page entitled "Publications Available for Viewing" with some documents about protecting intellectual property.

Academy of Legal Studies in Business The Academy is an international association with members who are non-lawyers interested in business law from an academic perspective.

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Last Updated: 09/02/2008