Legal department: structure, tasks, positions

The legal department, whose functions and features will be discussed further, is an independent structural unit. It is formed and liquidated on the basis of the order of the head of the firm. The employees of the legal department report directly to the director. The order of the division is determined in the Regulations. This local document establishes the rights and duties of employees, the tasks of the legal department, terms of reference and other significant conditions of activity. Let's consider further features of work of legal department at the enterprise.

General characteristic of the subdivision

In the above-mentioned Regulations, the structure of the legal department is determined. The unit is headed by an employee who is appointed by the order of the director of the firm. The head of the legal department can have deputies. Their number is determined by the Regulations and depends on the amount of work performed and the number of staff. The chief of the legal department distributes duties between deputies and employees.

Main activities

What does the legal department do? The functions of the department are as follows:

1. Ensuring compliance with the requirements of legislative acts in the enterprise and protecting its interests. Within the framework of this direction, the search, generalization and analysis of normative acts necessary for the work of the firm are carried out.
2. Organization and maintenance of systematic accounting, storage of legal documents arriving at the enterprise.
3. Acquisition and use of electronic databases of regulatory information.
4. Accounting for local documents approved at the enterprise.
5. Subscription to official publications, including electronic ones, in which legal acts on labor, taxation, economic, financial and other activities are published.
6. Verification of compliance with the requirements of legislation draft orders, regulations, instructions and other documents provided for signature to the director. Within the framework of this direction, it is determined the competence of the head to issue an appropriate act, the degree of necessity to coordinate it with the divisions of the firm, the correctness of references to norms.
7. Visiting projects that are compiled in accordance with established requirements.
8. Verification of the stages of coordination with the subdivisions of the firm.
9. Return of draft documents without a visa to the departments that developed them. At the same time, a written conclusion is drawn up, where provisions contradicting the norms are indicated, references to legal documents, instructions, etc. are given.
10. Control of bringing projects into line with the regulatory framework.
11. Issuance of instructions to the heads of subdivisions for the modification or cancellation of acts that were published with violations.

Contract activity

Practice in the legal department of the organization is related to determining the forms of interaction with counterparties, taking into account financial and production plans. In the framework of this activity, the employee units make proposals to the company's head on the possible option of establishing contractual relations. This can be done in two ways:

1. Conclusion of agreements.
2. Confirmation of acceptance by the supplier.

The lawyer of the company develops exemplary forms of contracts and transfers them to structural divisions. His duties include sighting of draft agreements concluded with contractors, and providing them for signature to the director of the firm.

Working with Disagreements

In the event of controversial situations with contractors in the preparation of contracts the company's lawyer draw up a protocol. Similarly, the partners of the enterprise also enter. When there are reports of disagreements from counteragents, a specialist of the legal department checks:

1. Timeliness of their compilation.
2. Justification and legitimacy of objections received from structural divisions, in respect of those or other proposals of counterparties.

In the event of partial or complete disagreement with the terms of the transaction, non-judicial settlement of the dispute is taken.

Analytical activities

The legal department of a bank or of any other enterprise studies contracts concluded in previous periods. The analysis is carried out in specific areas. In particular, it is studied:

1. Compliance with the terms of agreements to the interests of the firm and its counterparties.
2. Provisions that need to be changed or clarified, including in connection with the innovations in the legislation.

The legal department of the administration of the enterprise checks the status of contractual activity in structural divisions. If any deficiencies are found, a proposal is worked out and a set of measures for correcting the situation. In the framework of this direction, information on the amounts of penalties transferred by the enterprise for violations committed in the performance of obligations is also studied.

Claim work

The Legal Department keeps a record of objections received from counterparties and documentation related to them, according to a single journal form. It is the responsibility of the unit to prepare claims and confirmations to them in the amount necessary for transfer to partners, to arbitration and leave in business. The Legal Department sends notifications to counterparties on the facts of non-fulfillment or improper performance of their obligations. The unit monitors compliance with the requirements specified in the claims (in case of positive responses to them). The audit is carried out on the basis of information provided by other departments. Employees of the legal department prepare and submit to the head of the enterprise proposals relating to pre-trial settlement of conflicts, as well as the presentation of claims to the court. When claims from counteragents are received, the legal department reviews them. In the course of it are checked:

1. Justification of objections. In particular, the timeliness of the sending of claims, the correctness of references to normative acts, agreements and other documents are established.
2. The actual circumstances given in the objections.

After consideration, drafts of responses to claims are prepared, which are coordinated with the interested units of the enterprise. The head of the firm is presented with proposals for the full or partial satisfaction of the claims.

Protection of interests

The Legal Department takes all necessary measures for the pre-trial settlement of disputes that have arisen with counterparties. In the case of obtaining from the partners of the company evidence proving that they have refused to meet the claims submitted to them or failing to receive the answers within the established timeframe, a suit and materials are prepared for submission to the arbitration court. The duties of the unit include representing the interests of the firm during the proceedings. In the framework of this activity, employees, among other things, prepare counterclaims, petitions, examine claims received from counterparties. For every production business is formed. They are filed copies of applications and applications, reviews of claims, summonses and other materials. A legal department is also involved in the preparation of the list of employees whose presence may be required in court for a particular case. Positions of authorized employees are coordinated with the head of the enterprise.

Common tasks

The subdivision in question performs:

1. Advising all employees of the company on legal issues.
2. Work on the insurance of material assets that are at the disposal of the firm.
3. Registration of applications and other documents, their transfer to municipal and state structures for obtaining permits, patents, licenses for conducting business activities.
4. Development of materials relating to the preservation of the property of the firm. In particular, draft agreements on mat. Responsibility, instructions that determine the order of receipt and receipt of property, accounting for its movement, and so on.
5. Development of materials on embezzlement, embezzlement, damage, shortage of material values for the implementation of measures for compensation for damage.
6. Verification of the compliance of draft orders for dismissal or transfer of a materially responsible person.
7. Analysis of circumstances with the affected divisions that caused damage to property, theft, embezzlement and other violations.
8. Verification and sighting of contracts of liability.
9. Representation in state supervisory bodies authorized to handle cases of administrative violations found at the enterprise.
10. Signing of protocols and acts drawn up during the audit process, a description of the reasons for disagreement with the results.
11. Development of schedules of reception of employees of the enterprise for consulting.

The powers of the legal department also include participation in audits carried out by state control and supervisory authorities with a view to suppressing the unlawful actions of their representatives.

Interaction within the enterprise

The Legal Department carries out its activities in close contact with all subdivisions of the firm. The following are agreed with them:

1. Draft orders, orders, contracts for sighting and examination.
2. Claims forwarded by counterparties.
3. Materials for the presentation of disagreements and claims against consumers and suppliers in case they violate their obligations.
4. Applications for the search for required regulatory documents.
5. Answers to claims and claims of counteragents in case of violation by the divisions of their obligations.

As part of the interaction, the legal department explains the provisions of the current legislation, the rules for their application.

Work with accounts department

With this unit there is an interaction on issues related to:

1. The results of inventory of material assets located in the enterprise.
2. Information about embezzlement, shortages, damage, waste of property.
3. Reporting on the expenditure of funds allocated by the accounting department.

Interaction with financiers

The Legal Department coordinates the draft contracts with the said officials for the subsequent legal expertise. In addition, the financial department carries out cooperation on the following issues:

1. Drawing up conclusions on claims and claims brought by counterparties.
2. Formation of documentation on the transfer of funds to pay fees.
3. Payables and receivables.
4. Summarizing the results of court cases and claims.

In the course of working with the financial department, the law provisions are also clarified, legal assistance is provided, decisions are made on claims, materials on the status of enterprise debts are analyzed, and proposals are made to enforce collection of funds from counterparties.

Other areas of interaction

The legal department is in contact with the sales department on the issues of agreement on the terms of contracts for the sale of products. In the framework of cooperation, information is provided on violations by contractors of their obligations, non-compliance with the terms of delivery and payment for products, proposals for adjusting agreements in accordance with the specifics of individual partners of the enterprise. In addition, work is under way with the Department of Material and Technical Supply. As part of the activity, materials are studied and calculations are performed to send claims and claims to suppliers that violated obligations under contracts, protocols of disagreements are drawn up.

Division rights

The Legal Department can:

1. Request and receive information, reference information, materials necessary for the implementation of their duties, from other departments of the enterprise.
2. Conduct correspondence with municipal and state bodies on legal issues.
3. Act as a representative of the enterprise in the structures of state power, other organizations and institutions on issues within its competence.
4. Give other parts of the firm and individual employees instructions within their authority. The orders given are considered binding.
5. Take the necessary measures to identify violations of regulations in the enterprise, report the findings to the head to bring to justice the perpetrators.
6. Involve specialists and experts in consultation with the director for consultations and preparation of recommendations, proposals, conclusions.

A responsibility

She is the head of the legal department. Personal responsibility for it is assigned when:

1. Non-compliance with the norms of the law of the acts to be signed and signed.
2. Drafting, approval and submission of unreliable reports on compliance with the requirements of legislation in the enterprise.
3. Unsecured or inadequate management of the firm's legal information.
4. Late or inadequate maintenance of the documentation and execution of the director's orders.
5. The admission of the use of information by the employees of the department is not for business purposes.
6. Non-compliance with the employees of the work schedule.
7. Overexpenditures to support the activities of the unit.
8. Bringing the company to administrative responsibility in connection with the inadequate work of the legal department.

additional information

The unit can work specialists and assistants. For each employee an instruction is developed and approved. It, like the Regulations on the Legal Department, is mandatory for execution. In case of revealing discrepancy of a given item with the actual state of affairs, the head of the subdivision, employee or other person should apply with the application for making additions or changes to the document. As a rule, this is the responsibility of the personnel, personnel or expert commission (if the latter is provided in the state). The proposal should be considered within a month from the date it was sent. At the end of this period, one of the following decisions is made:

1. Accept addition / change.
2. Send a proposal for revision. At the same time, the period in which it is necessary to eliminate inaccuracies, and the responsible person, is indicated.
3. Refuse to accept the offer.

In the latter case, the applicant is sent a reasoned answer. The application is prepared according to the form approved by the enterprise.