Corporate law

Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations, and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corporations, or to the theory of corporations. Corporate law often describes the law relating to matters that derive directly from the life-cycle of a corporation. It thus encompasses the formation, funding, governance, and death of a corporation. While the minute nature of corporate governance as personified by share ownership, capital market, and business culture rules differ, similar legal characteristics and legal problems exist across many jurisdictions. Corporate law regulates how corporations, investors, shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community, and the environment interact with one another. Whereas the terms company law or business law may be colloquially used interchangeably with corporate law, the term business law in fact refers to wider concepts of commercial law, which is the law governing commercial and business-related activities. Depending on the legal system, this may include matters relating to corporate governance, financial law, contract law and other pertinent areas.