Law new is a catchall term used to describe various industry trends that have emerged in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Often associated with “legal tech,” “legal ops” and “ALSP’s” (alternative legal services providers), it encompasses an increasingly complex, multidimensional and fluid legal landscape that is impacting not only lawyers but the businesses and societies they serve.

The emergence of law new has not been the result of a single factor but rather a series of forces acting in tandem: (1) large-scale buyer activism by a burgeoning group of consumers seeking more transparent, affordable and scalable legal products and services; (2) the consolidation of the industry by law firms and in-house legal departments merging, collaborating, investing and buying up competitors to create vertical and horizontal integration that leverages infrastructure, shares data, pools expertise and meets ever-increasing cost takeout targets; (3) the proliferation of law firm spin-offs, joint ventures and managed services to provide an alternative to traditional hourly billing models; (4) the advent of technology-enabled tools to streamline, automate and streamline legal processes; (5) the growth of new business and client service delivery models such as project management, pricing, risk assessment and mitigation, and knowledge management; and (6) the creation of new legal markets and business opportunities such as the e-discovery market.

In order for law new to be embraced, the industry must embrace its change process and shift its focus from preserving the status quo to serving its legal consumers and society-at-large. It will then revert to being human-centric, and profits will not be driven by an adherence to outdated economic models, self-congratulatory awards or profit preservation but by customer impact that produces high net promoter scores.

The current state of law includes constitutional, statutory and regulatory laws, laws passed by the New York legislature and codified in the New York Consolidated Laws, as well as decisions rendered by courts that interpret and apply these laws to specific facts and circumstances. It is important for legal professionals to understand how these components work together to create a dynamic system of law that serves society’s needs.

New laws are created through a process that begins with a bill introduced by a member of Congress in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. The bill then undergoes a series of research, discussion and change before it is voted on and ultimately becomes law. Learn how to track legislation and read about upcoming hearings and events related to the latest legislative news.