Law Day 1999 ...Effective government, laws boost bottom lines

Every business consultant has a pet theory that explains one company's success and another's failure. Regardless of what theory you believe today, the simple truth is that all of our bottom lines depend on fair laws and an effective democratic government.

Without law, there can be no business. Without lawyers, even the most ingenious system of laws is useless to the business community.

Lawyers shuttle between the worlds of law and business, creating legal structures to support our nation's growth and innovation.

Government must not only work, but it must work for the business community, as well as the other segments of our country.

In the United States, we are fortunate to have a government and system of laws that provide the stability necessary for a robust economy.

May 1, Law Day U.S.A., is a good time to pull back from the hustle and bustle of the business day to take a few moments to appreciate the role of law in our society.

Think of all the Third World countries that have unstable governments. What corporation can accept the risk of investing substantially in a country where the ruler of the day makes his own laws and decides which of yesterday's contracts are still binding? Without a stable government, citizens can not fully realize the potential of their resources their country's and their own.

The stability that we take for granted in all our levels of government city, county, state and federal affects our lives and our economic health far more than we realize. Ask any Russian what he or she would give for a stable government. Small businesses can't prosper when local government officials are corrupt and payoffs, kickbacks and tithing to organized crime are part of the cost of doing business.

The great difficulties faced by today's citizens of the former Soviet Union are due in part to the instability of all levels of government and a lack of effective checks and balances between the branches of government.

Russia and other countries that burdened their citizens with Communism also lack experience creating and enforcing laws that support sound economic growth.

Think of all the amazing ideas that are whirling through the minds of inventors and innovators throughout the world. New cures for diseases, new industrial processes, new types of microchips. Each idea not only represents a possible improvement in the quality of life of individuals, but some can lead to entire new industries and thousands of new jobs. Yet, inventors would be foolish to share their ideas in countries that have intellectual property laws that rob them of their potential profits.

United States copyright and patent laws may seem like a hurdle to the young inventor wanting to start a new business, but they provide essential protection. These and other laws create an environment where creativity and genius can flourish.

Ours is not a perfect country. But the United States is a country where improvements in government and law are an everyday occurrence. As an organization, The Missouri Bar works for an effective and fair system of laws. As individuals, Missouri lawyers work as catalysts for orderly change.

The world of the 21st century is almost unimaginable, but one thing we know for sure: Our laws and government will be based on the same democratic principles that have allowed our country to prosper for the past 200 years.

On Law Day, as on every other day of the year, the bottom line depends on the legal environment that makes our business environment possible.

(Jennifer Gille Bacon is president of The Missouri Bar Association.)

[[In-content Ad]]