Limited liability for small, closely-held businesses

The article assesses the likely impact of the new Limited Liability Partnership envisaged by Limited Liability Partnerships Bill. It examines the present choices of organisational form available to entrepreneurs in English Law and considers arguments for and against limited liability both generally in relation to contractual and tortious claims and specifically in its application to small businesses. The article concludes that the Limited Liability Partnership may offer attractive flexibility for small businesses but that there is still some uncertainty surrounding its provisions, particularly in relation to members' liability. These must be adequately resolved if the new model is to prove an attractive alternative to incorporation. © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.