Law new is about being open to opportunities and finding creative ways of reaching clients. This new way of practice can mean working with underserved communities or creating strategies that haven’t been part of the legal industry in the past. It is about understanding how to unleash potential and offer the kind of help that is needed in a fast-changing world.
A major challenge facing the legal industry is keeping up with the pace of business and social change. The global nature of these changes demands that solutions be collaborative and multifaceted. Often, these problems are so complex that no one function, organization, or enterprise can master them alone. This is especially true in the face of significant global challenges like a pandemic.
The resulting need for collaboration across multiple functions and across the entire supply chain has created the need for more fluid, innovative delivery models that integrate with businesses and societies as a whole. These new law models will be collaborative, data-backed, agile, on-demand, and scalable to meet the needs of businesses and society at large. They will be the foundation for the legal industry’s transformation to customer-centricity.
Legal consumers are demanding more from their providers and the legal industry is responding in a variety of ways. Alternative legal services providers (ALSPs) are a good example. They are increasingly adopting the “New Law” label to promote their own brand of innovation and differentiation from traditional law firms. The use of this terminology is intended to distinguish them from legal tech and other companies that are augmenting traditional law practice with a range of technologies.
New laws are being introduced in Congress and state legislatures all over the country. Typically, a bill to create a new law is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate by a senator or representative who sponsors it. It is then assigned to a committee whose members research it, discuss it, make changes, and vote on it. If a bill passes one chamber, it is sent to the other for a similar process before becoming a law.
The laws of New York consist of constitutional, statutory and regulatory provisions passed by the Legislature and codified in the New York Consolidated Laws, as well as court decisions that interpret those statutes. The most recent legislative development in New York is a law that requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave.
The judicial branch of the New York government is responsible for hearing appeals in cases brought before the lower courts and for rendering final decisions on federal and state laws passed by the legislative and executive branches. These cases can be based on facts, constitutional or statutory arguments, or they may involve a violation of the constitution’s prohibition on laws discriminating against one group or another. In some instances, cases involving alleged violations of the constitution are brought directly to the New York Supreme Court, where a judge can issue a constitutional opinion.