Overview of Business Law and Practice

Introduction

This opening chapter sets the scene for **Business Law and Practice ('BLP')**, one of the core subjects examined within **FLK1** of the SQE1 assessment. It explains the **assessment objectives** you are expected to meet, the **multifaceted role of a solicitor** in business law and practice, and provides a short **guide to the Companies Act 2006** — the central statute for the company-law topics that follow. The aim is to give you a map of the subject before you begin the substantive units on **starting, managing, financing, taxing and terminating a business**.

Assessment focus

For the SQE1 FLK1 assessment, BLP is examined alongside other FLK1 subjects through **single best answer questions (SBAQs)** set in **realistic client-based and ethical scenarios**. Candidates must **apply** relevant core legal principles and rules appropriately and effectively at the level of a **competent newly qualified solicitor**, rather than merely recall them. Questions may draw on any combination of the BLP subject areas — **starting, managing, financing, taxing and terminating a business** — and may engage **professional conduct and ethics**, since candidates must act honestly and with integrity in accordance with the **SoSC**, the **SRA Principles** and the **Code of Conduct**. This is a closed-book assessment.

Study tips

1) Learn the **six BLP assessment objectives** (start / manage / stakeholders / finance / tax / terminate a business) — they map directly onto the units of this book. 2) Remember that **business vehicles** include the **company, partnership, LLP and sole trader** — be ready to compare them. 3) Note the **four headline statutes** for this subject: **Companies Act 2006**, **Legal Services Act 2007**, **Employment Rights Act 1996**, plus the **SRA Code of Conduct**. 4) The **Companies Act 2006** is the single most important statute — keep an electronic copy to look up specific sections quickly. 5) Always read every BLP question as a **client problem**: identify the vehicle, the stakeholders and the solicitor's professional duties before answering.