H. The Uniform Commercial Code (part of Business Credit Principles)

Laws governing sales began in England when merchants developed the law of merchants or a system of rules, customs and usages that regulated their transactions. Eventually, the law of merchants was combined with British common law. By 1882, the English Bills of Exchange Act was adopted by the British Parliament, followed by the Sale of Goods Act in 1893.

Using these two English laws as an example, two sets of laws were created by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in the United States: the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act (1896) and the Uniform Sales Act (1906). Other laws relating to commercial transactions were also created in the early 1900s such as the Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act (1906), the Uniform Stock Transfer Act (1909), the Uniform Bills of Lading Act (1909), the Uniform Conditional Sales Act (1918) and the Uniform Trust Receipts Act (1933). By the mid-1900s, it became clear that these various laws needed revision to keep current with business and to be integrated into one set of laws.

In 1942, the Uniform Commercial Code was designed as a joint project between the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws. It took 10 years for the appointed editorial board and drafting committees to produce an official text, which underwent several revisions. Today, the Permanent Editorial Board (PEB) for the UCC is the body responsible for the uniformity of enactment and construction of the UCC and for evaluating and preparing proposals for amendment.

Speaker Bio:
Wanda Borges, the principal member of Borges &, Associates, LLC. Wanda has specialized in commercial insolvency practice and commercial litigation representing corporate clients throughout the United States for an excess of thirty years.

She is a regular lecturer for NACM and its various affiliates. She has prepared and continues to update various courses including "Advanced Issues in Bankruptcy", "Basics in Bankruptcy", "Current Cases in Bankruptcy", "Creditor's Committees", and "Antitrust Issues", which have been presented at past NACM Annual Credit Congresses and at trade credit association meetings. Wanda is also faculty member for the NACM's Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management.