Law is not just about compliance for businesses. It’s about creating value. It’s also about creating ‘competitive advantage’.
This is what I strongly believe should be at the heart of the business strategy. Unsurprisingly, it’s why I feel parts of Society may need lawyers.
A company in the UK will be make offerings to the general public for a product or service. People who have watched the careers of Lord Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson saw them progress in ‘business media’ from ultimately a sole trader to the company in English law. Lord Sugar tends to excel at products, Sir Richard Branson tends to excel at services.
The debate in economics is not just about delivering a low cost product. There are two critical aspects to creating value. Firstly, there is inherent worth in the offering you’re producing (this could be ‘eco-friendly’ washing powder, or a legal education which has a strong passion for social justice). Also, it’s creating shared value between the company and the customer.
That’s where the strategy comes in. Businesses need to position themselves ahead of their competitors, and this involves an understanding of their ‘competitive advantage’. A number of factors can act here such as market entry for what you’re producing, and the bargaining power of suppliers and customers, but fundamentally the ‘competitive landscape’ plays a part. Enmeshed in this competitive landscape might be political, social, economic, technological, environmental factors, but above law, law and regulatory factors.
Our student society at BPP has at its roots a balanced discussion of how businesses deliver value and competitive advantage. We also discuss key aspects of compliance with the law (e.g. not hacking to selling a multi-million paper, not accepting bribes to further our business), and we argue that compliance with the law is important. However, to create a successful environment for the clients of business lawyers it’s fundamental to understand value and competitive advantage at the heart of business.
Irrespective of students’ ultimate ‘success’ in finding City training contracts, we feel strongly that an education and unfettered discussion of this, at student level too, is what their high-profile clients want.
