The start of the New Year is an important time to revisit the financial and legal documents governing your business. Depending upon the type of business you currently own and the structure of your company, reviewing your business documents and updating them could involve many different tasks. At the start of 2018, you should have reviewed your partnership agreement and the partnership audit rules that took effect on January 1, 2018, as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Whether or not you reviewed your business documents at this same time last year, it is important to work with an experienced DuPage business law attorney to review your company’s agreements, financial materials, and legal considerations for 2019.

Reviewing and Amending a Partnership Agreement

If your business is a partnership, the New Year is a good time to review your partnership agreement and to amend it if necessary. If all partners agree to amend the partnership agreement, then an amendment is possible at any time under the Uniform Partnership Act (805 ILCS 206/) in Illinois.

There are numerous reasons that a business might need to amend its partnership agreement. For example, maybe you added a new partner or are planning to add a new partner in 2019. Or, if a partner left the business or is planning to leave, you will also need to amend the partnership agreement.

Common judicial processes in the U.S., and in DuPage County, in particular, can be problematic for many members of the Muslim community. The American court system functions in a manner that privileges individual rights over collective responsibilities and communities, which can be alienating to Muslims in general and particularly so for members of the Muslim community who are immigrants and are accustomed to different legal, social, cultural, and religious practices. Relying on Muslim arbitration can be one way to handle business disputes and other legal conflicts involving a member of the Muslim community without treading on certain norms that are important to that party.

To learn more about Muslim arbitration, first we want to say more about arbitration generally. Then we will provide you with some background information about Muslim arbitration in the United States.

What Is Arbitration and Why Is It Beneficial?

Resolving legal conflicts in business and other areas can be complicated and frustrating for anyone, but the prospect of conflict resolution can feel even more daunting — and potentially biased — for members of the Muslim community. Common legal practices in the West rely on rules and individual responsibility, and as such, lawsuits are routine and necessary. Such practices can corrupt the ethical assumptions and religious or sociocultural practices of persons who do not ascribe to Western norms. All of this is to say that conflict resolution, particularly involving members of the Muslim community, can be complicated in relation to the U.S. judicial system.

Lawyers who regularly work with members of the Muslim community are trained to think outside of the box and to come up with unique solutions to legal and business disputes that arise between and among community members. There are multiple methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and other non-judicial options, for resolving conflicts.

Mediation as a Helpful Alternative for Resolving Conflicts

Business disputes arise in many different contexts, from disputes with suppliers or employees to disputes among co-owners of the business. Given that corporate law as it is practiced in the U.S. tends to be very Western and individualistic in its approach, it can be difficult for members of the Muslim community to integrate their own cultural and religious practices into the existing corporate law structures. For example, the practice of taking a business dispute to court can come into conflict with a Muslim business owner’s religious and cultural practices for resolving disputes.

When Western jurisprudence seems to diverge from the principles of Islamic law or Islamic cultural practices more generally when determining the outcome of a business dispute, the parties may consider turning to mediation. A form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), mediation allows parties to a dispute to play an important role in the outcome of the situation all while being flexible with regard to the practices and styles of the mediation space.

How Mediation Can Be Flexible for Muslims Involved in Business Disputes

What happens when owners or shareholders of a corporation have a business dispute? Does the dispute always result in litigation, or are there ways to manage disputes so as to avoid litigation entirely? Board of directors disputes happen more often than people might expect. In order to do what is best for the business, it is important to get these disputes settled as quickly as possible and to get back to work on the goals of the business.

What Does a Board of Directors Do?

Before we discuss options for handling board of directors disputes, it is important to understand exactly what it is that a board of directors does in a corporation. Setting up a corporate board of directors is one of the first steps when creating a corporation. The individuals who make up the board of directors have a number of different duties, including but not limited to: