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A Discussion of Legal Issues Affecting Big Chapters Prepared for the officer Leadership Training Materials
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A DISCUSSION OF LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING BIG CHAPTERS
PREPARED FOR THE
OFFICER LEADERSHIP TRAINING MATERIALS
Submitted by Aditya S. McDuffy, LL.M., Esq.
Chair, National Legal Review Committee
February 2001
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION: SOURCES OF LAW 3
HOW TO ANALYZE A LEGAL ISSUE 4
CONTRACT LAW 6
AGENCY LAW: DUTIES IMPOSED ON MEMBERS ACTING
ON BEHALF OF THE CHAPTER 9
AGENCY LAW: ACTUAL AND APPARENT AUTHORITY 11
CONCLUSION 13
ENDNOTES 13
INTRODUCTION: SOURCES OF LAW
One legal dictionary defines law as “the legislative pronouncement of the
rules which should guide ones actions in society; “the aggregate of those rules
and principles of conduct promulgated by the legislative authority [court
decisions], or established by local custom.”1 The law stems from a number of
sources including the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, state constitutions, state
statutes, local ordinances, state and federal court decisions, and rulings of
federal, state and local agencies. Laws vary from state to state and at times,
from community to community.
Because BIG chapters throughout the country are very active and
participate in unlimited community, professional and cultural activities, it is
impossible to define all of the laws that could potentially affect BIG members.
For this reason, this document provides general background information that BIG
members can use in conducting the day-to-day business of their chapters. This
document does not replace the need for legal counsel, and does not contain
enough information to make someone an expert in any legal matter.
This document provides a general framework for analyzing legal issues. It
then sets forth basic principles of contract and agency law that are applicable in
most states.
HOW TO ANALYZE A LEGAL ISSUE
In order to analyze a legal issue one must identify facts underlying the
issue, determine the potential questions of law raised by those facts, identify the
applicable rules of law, analyze the application of the law to the facts, and
formulate a conclusion as to how the law will be applied. This process is referred
to as FIRAC – Facts, Issues, Rules, Analysis and Conclusion.
Whenever a legal issue arises, one must first gather all of the relevant
facts pertaining to the situation. BIG members should investigate and document
where, when, how and why a situation occurred, in addition to examining who
was involved and exactly what happened.
After the facts are gathered, one can identify potential questions of law
raised by the facts. Depending upon the situation, this phase can be very
difficult. Attorneys or persons with specialized knowledge can often identify
potential problems that are not readily apparent to others.
Research must be conducted to locate applicable laws. This phase may
involve researching ordinances, regulations or statutes. It may also involve
studying case law and/or the history underlying rules and regulations.
Sometimes the law in a state doesnt address a specific issue. In this
instance, the law of other states may be consulted. Secondary research
materials and legal abstracts can be used as persuasive evidence that the law
should be interpreted in a particular manner. Also, arguments can be made that
current law should be changed.
When analyzing legal issues, one should examine how courts have
applied the law to other cases with similar facts. Different courts sometimes
apply the same law in different ways. The outcome of cases varies based on the
facts of each case. It is important to remember that reasonable minds can
drastically differ on any given situation. In a legal matter it is the analysis of the
judge or jury analyzing a case that is most important.
Analyzing legal issues is a complex process. Laws change from state to
state. The process for adjudicating legal issues varies from state to state.
However, FIRAC is a method for analyzing legal issues that can be universally
applied.
CONTRACT LAW
A contract is “a promise, or set of promises, for breach of which the law
gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as
a duty.”2 It is a mutually binding agreement. In