Legal Resources: Business Law Links

A. Government Sites—Federal

Americans with Disabilities Act

http://www.ada.gov
Information and technical assistance on the ADA by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

http://www.federalreserve.gov/
Home page with informational links about the “Fed,” monetary policy, banking regulation, economic data, and other topics.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of Commerce

http://www.bis.doc.gov/about/index.htm
Federal agency that administers the U.S. export control and treaty compliance system, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

Business.gov

http://www.business.gov/
Home page, operated by the U.S. Small Business Administration, with links to legal and regulatory information, and plain-English guides for starting a business, handling finances, managing employees, and other topics.

CIA, The World Factbook

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
U.S. government profiles of countries and territories around the world.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

http://www.eeoc.gov/
EEOC site with basic introduction to employers’ rights and responsibilities under the federal equal employment opportunity laws.

Federal agencies (through Library of Congress site)

http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/fedgov.html
A Library of Congress resource page with links to most federal agencies.

Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC)

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/
Part of the U.S. General Services Administration, the FCIC’s Small Business Links offer information for persons planning or owning small businesses, including information on procurement, taxes, woman- and minority-owned businesses, human resources, and financial and legal issues.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

http://www.fdic.gov/
Home page with links to statistical data, pertinent regulations, and FAQs.

Federal Register

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html
Main page, with search functions, for the Federal Register—the official daily publication for federal agency rules, proposed rules, and notices as well as executive orders. Specific Federal Register pages can be retrieved at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/retrieve.html

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

http://www.frbsf.org/
Home page. The current FRBSF discount rate, used to determine the usury ceiling in California, is posted at http://www.frbsf.org/banking/data/discount/index.html

Federal Trade Commission

http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/business.shtm
Home page for businesses, with links to business publications, advertising guidance, fair packaging and labeling, antitrust law guide, and other topics. Information concerning the Hart-Scott-Rodino premerger notification requirements is at http://www.ftc.gov/bc/hsr/introguides/introguides.htm

USA.gov

http://www.usa.gov/Business/Business_Gateway.shtml
The official web portal of the U.S. government, with links to information on contracting with the U.S. government, export licenses, business financial assistance, and many other topics.

Internal Revenue Service

http://www.irs.gov/
Home page; access to downloadable IRS forms and publications.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

http://www.osha.gov/
Home page.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)

http://www.occ.treas.gov/
Home page with links to reports and other resources for banking industry professionals, as well as public information about the national banking system.

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)

http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/index.htm
Home page with statutory, regulatory, and compliance information regarding nondiscrimination requirements for federal contractors.

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

http://www.ustr.gov/index.html
Home page.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

http://www.sec.gov/
Home page with links to information for small businesses; online access to proposed and final rules, SEC releases, policy statements, and other commission notices and information; searchable database of all electronic company filings since 1994.

http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
SEC Edgar main page, with access to electronic filings and forms.

Small Business Administration

http://www.sba.gov/
Home page with extensive links to federal and other resources for small businesses.

Social Security Administration

http://www.ssa.gov/
Home page. SSA forms are available online at http://www.ssa.gov/online/forms.html

THOMAS

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html
Website of the Library of Congress providing federal legislative information.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
Home page with links to immigration laws and forms.

U.S. Copyright Office

http://www.copyright.gov/
Home page with links to copyright registration and other information. The agency’s new Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) is at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/index.html

U.S. Department of Commerce

http://www.commerce.gov/
Home page.

U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division

http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/guidelines/guidelin.htm
Link to Antitrust Division Guidelines and Policy Statements.

U.S. Department of Labor

http://www.dol.gov/
Home page with links to statutory and regulatory information, labor statistics, small-business regulatory-compliance assistance, and other information.

U.S. Department of Labor, Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT)

http://www.oalj.dol.gov/libdot.htm
Dictionary of job titles and standardized job descriptions; useful for job placement, occupational research, career guidance, labor-market information, curriculum development, and long-range job planning. Last updated in 1991, the DOT has now been replaced by O*NET Online, http://online.onetcenter.org/

U.S. Department of State

http://www.state.gov/
Home page with links to international commercial laws and guides.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

http://www.epa.gov/
Home page.

U.S. Government Printing Office

http://www.gpo.gov/
Home page with links to products and services, including online searchable copies of the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations.

U.S. International Trade Commission

http://www.usitc.gov/
Home page with rules, regulations, reports, and other information, including an extensive list of links to international trade resources.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

http://www.uspto.gov/
Home page with downloadable forms and information on patent applications and trademark registrations.

B. International Sites – Private International Law Database: Trade/Business Transactions Law, U.S. Department of State

http://www.state.gov/www/global/legal_affairs/transaction_law.html
Access to treaties in force for the United States, other international instruments, and information on current negotiations and projects concerning private international law. Updated through January 1, 2001. For treaty actions since January 1, 2001, see http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/c3428.htm

CURIA

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/
Home page of the courts of the European Communities, with searchable case law and other information.

Electronic Embassy Website

http://www.embassy.org/
Information on all foreign embassies in Washington, D.C.

EUR-Lex

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
Website providing direct free access to European Union law. Among other things, it includes the Official Journal of the European Union, treaties, legislation, case law, and legislative proposals.

European Franchise Federation (EFF)

http://www.eff-franchise.com/
Nonprofit international organization that promotes the interests and development of franchising in Europe.

Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)

http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=1
Home page.

International Trademark Association (INTA)

http://www.inta.org
INTA is an international nonprofit membership association dedicated to the support and advancement of trademarks and related intellectual property.

NAICS Association

http://www.naics.com/index.html
Agency that administers the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), which replaced the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997. NAICS codes are used by statistical agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to classify businesses for the collection, analysis, and publication of statistical data related to the economy.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Secretariat

http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/en/view.aspx
Home page with link to text of NAFTA.

Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)

http://www.sedar.com/
Home page of the Canadian equivalent to the SEC’s EDGAR. Provides access to corporate filings of Canadian companies with Canada’s securities regulatory authorities.

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

http://www.uncitral.org/
Home page with links to UNICITRAL texts, including conventions, model laws, guides to enactment, legislative guides, legislative recommendations, and model contract rules. In particular, this website includes the text of the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

CISG Database at Pace University School of Law, Pace Law Library, Institute of International Commercial Law

http://cisgw3.law.pace.edu/
Site dedicated to U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), with annotated text of CISG, CISG in different languages, cases organized by countries, and related CISG material.

International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)

http://www.unidroit.org/dynasite.cfm
Home page.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
A specialized agency of the United Nations, dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

http://www.wto.org/
Global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.

C. Government Sites—California California Department of Corporations (DOC), Franchise Regulation

http://www.corp.ca.gov/SRD/franchise.asp
Access to information and forms concerning franchise registration.

California Department of Corporations (DOC), Securities Regulation Division

http://www.corp.ca.gov/SRD/default.asp
Access to forms, departmental publications, Commissioner’s releases, opinions, and notices concerning the California blue sky laws.

Cal-EASI

http://www.corp.ca.gov/CalEASI/caleasi.asp
California Department of Corporations website providing access to securities and franchise filings.

California Department of Fair Employment and Housing

http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/
Home page.

California Department of Insurance, Workers’ Compensation Information

http://www.dir.ca.gov/workers’_comp.html
Access to information on workers’ compensation insurance.

California Department of Real Estate (DRE)

http://www.dre.ca.gov/
Home page with information for consumers as well as real estate licensees and examinees.

California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh
Access to information concerning the Cal-OSHA program.

California Employment Development Department (EDD)

http://www.edd.ca.gov
Home page; information concerning job placement and referrals, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, employment and training, the labor market, payroll taxes, and other topics.

California Franchise Tax Board (FTB)

http://www.ftb.ca.gov/
Home page with links to downloadable state tax forms and publications.

California Law Revision Commission

http://www.clrc.ca.gov/
Home page.

Official California Legislative Information

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/index.html
Full text of bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments, as well as their status, history, votes, analyses, and veto messages.

California Legislative Resource

http://calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10137&id=10452
Webpage maintained by the State Bar of California with many helpful links regarding California’s legislative process, pending bills, legislative calendar, committees, and other topics.

State Bar of California Bill Tracking Service

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/legislation/State%20Bar%20Bill%20Tracking-Sections.html
Centralized legislative monitoring and tracking service listing bills of potential interest to members of the State Bar’s sections and their committees.

CalGOLD

http://www.calgold.ca.gov/
The CalGOLD website provides links and contact information for California businesses concerning business permits, licenses, and registrations required by federal, regional, state, and local agencies. Information is searchable according to type of business.

California Office of Privacy Protection

http://www.oispp.ca.gov/consumer_privacy/default.asp
State agency dedicated to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of consumers.

http://www.ca.gov/
State of California site with links to California agencies, departments, and commissions.

California State Association of Counties

http://www.csac.counties.org/
Home page with links to all California counties.

California State Board of Equalization

http://www.boe.ca.gov/
Home page with access to information about sales and use taxes, sellers’ permits, forms, and publications.

California Secretary of State— California Business Portal:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/
Home page.

Forms and Fees:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/forms.htm
Directory of forms, sample forms, and fees for different business filings, including UCC forms, some in fill-in format.
Business Filings:

Business Entities

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/
Business Entities main page with links to services offered for corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and other business entities; filing tips to meet statutory minimum requirements; name availability; FAQs; and more.

Trademarks and Service Marks

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/ts/
Trademarks and service marks main page with links to forms and fees, name availability, FAQs, private service companies, and more.

California Business Search

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov
Fill-in boxes to check records online for corporations, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies.

Starting a Business

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/starting-a-business.htm
A step-by-step guide for starting a business in California.

e-file Statement of Information

https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/
Fill-in boxes to file a Statement of Information for a corporation online.

Notary Public

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/
Notary public main page, with links to topics such as obtaining a notary public commission, handbook, authentications, apostille or certification, forms, and fees.

Uniform Commercial Code

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/ucc/
UCC main page with links to UCC Connect (the Secretary of State’s online service for UCC inquiries, filings, requests for copies and debtor search certificates, and more), financing statement forms and filing fees, administrative rules, FAQs, and other resources.

International Business Relations Program

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/ibrp/
Main page with links to chambers of commerce, foreign consulates, trade associations, and other agencies, and to other resources to assist foreign business entities with various California filing procedures.

Business Program Division, Legislation

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/bpd_newleg.htm
Summaries and links to new state laws affecting businesses.

Victims of Corporate Fraud Compensation Fund

http://www.sos.ca.gov/vcfcf/
Main page with information, including application requirements, instructions, and forms, concerning the fraud compensation fund administered by the Secretary of State’s office.

D. Private Agency Sites – ABA Section of Business Law

http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/home.html
Home page with links to publications and other resources for business lawyers.

Active Capital

http://activecapital.org/
Site dedicated to helping individual accredited investors, SBICs, and institutional venture capitalists find small, growing companies through a secure Internet database, and providing ongoing training and research for entrepreneurs and small investors.

AllBusiness

http://www.allbusiness.com
Small business portal, with links to forms, directories, and resources on many topics.

American Arbitration Association

http://www.adr.org/
Home page with links to rules and procedures.

American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)

http://www.aipla.org
Home page with links to practice areas, professional development, educational materials, meetings, and events.

Annual Reports.com

http://www.annualreports.com/
Free service offering links to annual reports of public companies.

BenefitsLink

http://www.benefitslink.com
Compliance information and tools for employee benefit plan sponsors, service providers, and participants.

Better Business Bureau

http://www.bbb.org/
National home page. There are separate regional Better Business Bureaus covering different geographical areas of California, each with its own website.

The Biz-Tech Network by Brint Institute, LLC

http://www.brint.com/
Portal with a meta-index of business, management, and information technology topics; it also provides search capabilities and full text articles on related issues.

Business.com

http://www.business.com/
Business search engine and directory intended to help users find companies, products, services, and other business-related information; some features are fee-based.

Business Law Section of the State Bar of California

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_sections_generic.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home/Attorney%20Resources/Sections/Business%20Law
Home page with links to standing committees, programs, and publications.

Business Week Online

http://www.businessweek.com/
Articles, links, and opportunity to subscribe to free newsletter.

CNBC

http://www.cnbc.com/
Home page of business and financial news cable network.

CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/?cnn=yes
General business news website offered by CNN and Fortune and Money magazines.

Corporate Finance Sourcebook

http://www.financesourcebook.com/
Link for ordering popular guidebook published by National Register Publishing. The guidebook features over 1500 top investment sources and 1700 service firms for business entrepreneurs.

Corporate Information

http://www.corporateinformation.com/
Subscription-based website offering research reports on public, private, domestic, and foreign corporations.

The Corporate Library

http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/
The Corporate Library is an independent research firm providing corporate governance data, analysis, and risk assessment tools.

Creative Commons

http://creativecommons.org
A nonprofit organization founded by Prof. Lawrence Lessig of Stanford University that provides special copyright license forms and other free tools to enable authors, scientists, artists, and educators to share intellectual property.

Dun & Bradstreet

http://www.dnb.com/us/
Home page of Dun & Bradstreet. Subscribers can request reports and run online queries in proprietary databases.

Edgar Online, Inc.

http://www.edgar-online.com/
Edgar Online, Inc. is a private company, not affiliated with the SEC, specializing in the extraction, packaging, and distribution of public-company information contained in SEC filings.

Entrepreneur.com

http://www.entrepreneur.com/mag
Free access to Entrepreneur magazine articles back to 1998.

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

http://www.fasb.org/
Access to FASB Statements of Financial Accounting Standards and other resources.

Findlaw Business Center
http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/
Portal with links to articles and guides on starting a business, taxes and accounting, small business legal concerns, and more. Part of West Group.

Garage Technology Ventures

http://www.garage.com/
Venture capital fund for emerging technology companies.

GNU

http://www.gnu.org/
Organization promulgating the development and use of free software and the use of open-source software licenses.

Google Business News

http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=wn&ned=us&topic=b
Business news headlines with links to full stories from news organizations around the world.

Google Small Business Directory

http://directory.google.com/Top/Business/Small_Business/
A directory of small business resources.

Hieros Gamos Small Business Center

http://www.hg.org/sbcenter.html
Portal with links to topics such as starting a business, choosing a legal structure, and financing.

Hoover’s Online

http://www.hoovers.com/
Subscription-based site with industry snapshots, company profiles, earnings, and other information.

Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_sections_generic.jsp?cid=10707
Home page with links to standing committees, programs, and publications.

International Franchise Association (IFA)

http://www.franchise.org/
Trade association promoting responsible franchise development worldwide.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

http://www.icann.org/
Private agency responsible for global coordination of the Internet’s system of unique identifiers, including domain names (such as .com, .org, and country codes such as .fr), as well as addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols.

IP Mall

http://ipmall.info/
Website sponsored by Franklin Pierce Law Center, with links to intellectual property resources around the world (including patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, licensing, and technology transfers).

JAMS

http://www.jamsadr.com
Home page with information about JAMS mediation and arbitration services and a search engine to assist in locating qualified mediators and arbitrators. The website also offers sample dispute resolution clauses for commercial contracts.

Jefren Publishing Co.

http://www.jefren.com
Subscription service offering proxy statement forms and strategies.

MarketResearch.com

http://www.marketresearch.com/
Free database of market research reports representing all market and industry sectors.

NASDAQ

http://www.nasdaq.com/
Comprehensive current information on market performance and investments.

National Association of Attorneys General

http://www.naag.org/
Association of the attorneys general of all 50 states, with contact information and links to enforcement initiatives.

National Association of Seed and Venture Funds

http://www.nasvf.org/
Network of private, public, and nonprofit organizations investing and facilitating investment in entrepreneurs.

National Business Association

http://www.nationalbusiness.org/
Nonprofit association’s site for the self-employed and small business community.

National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)

http://www.nvca.org/
Home page with links to members and other resources.

New York Stock Exchange (now NYSE Euronext)

http://www.nyse.com/
Comprehensive, current information on market performance and investments.

PayChex

http://www.paychex.com/index.aspx
Company offering payroll processing, human resources administration and compliance, and employee benefit administration services for small and mid-sized businesses.

PayPal Merchant Services

https://merchant.paypal.com/cgi-bin/marketingweb?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=merchant/home
Commercial service enabling businesses to accept credit card and other payments securely on websites, by e-mail, or over the telephone.

The Public Register Online

http://www.annualreportservice.com/
Free access to annual reports of over 2200 companies. Site also has links to the SEC’s Edgar database for filings.

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/finance
Business and finance news database with reports on business transactions, markets, small businesses, industries, the economy, and other topics.

Safeselling.org

http://www.safeselling.org/
ABA-sponsored resource for business people launching e-commerce enterprises and for businesses venturing into online sales.

The Small Business Portal

http://www.thesmallbusinessportal.com/
Links to topics such as starting a business, franchise advice, financing, and home-based businesses.

Standard & Poor’s

http://www.standardandpoors.com/
Home page with search engine for public company credit ratings and other features.

Tripod by Lycos
http://www.tripod.lycos.com/smallbiz/index.html
Portal with tips on starting an online business, yellow pages, and some free and some fee-based services.

U.S. GAAP Information

http://cpaclass.com/gaap/
Comprehensive source of information on generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S.

Wall Street Journal Online Edition

http://online.wsj.com/home-page
General business and financial news.

Washburn University School of Law Small Business Portal

http://www.washlaw.edu/subject/small.business.html
Portal with links to a forms library and business and economic data.

Yahoo! Finance

http://biz.yahoo.com/i/
Free company profiles and stock charts for over 9000 public companies.

Yahoo! Small Business

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/index.html?
Portal with links to topics such as creating a website, promoting a business, and selling online.