A control (of an entity by a person or group) that is prescribed by law. For legal control to exist, one shareholder, or a group of shareholders coordinating together, must hold at least 50.1% of the issued and outstanding voting shares of an entity, so that the shareholder(s) has/ have the ability to elect a majority of directors to the entity’s board of directors, and consequently dictate its day-to-day management and operations.

Legal control is also known as a de jure control.