A new focus in law is emerging. It is called “law new.” But what does it mean? Is it a way to improve the delivery of legal services? Is it a new way of partnering with clients to deliver legal support? Is it a new approach to deploying technology to support the delivery of legal services? These are all valid answers but each one misses the point. Law new is about changing how the industry does business to produce change that benefits customers and society at large.
In the past, legal innovation has largely been about looking for ways to deliver legal services more efficiently using established business processes, leveraging technology and employing multidisciplinary expertise (non-lawyers) within an internal, non-client facing structure. It is also about making the practice of law more accessible to a wider range of legal consumers. This is what legal ops is about. It is good delivery hygiene and a step in the right direction but does not constitute true change management or new law.
A more precise definition of law new entails changing the culture and practice of law in order to be more responsive to legal consumer needs, embrace more effective technology, provide greater access to legal assistance, promote a broader variety of legal products and services, and more closely align with corporate customer demands and society at large. It will encompass both internal and external components of the legal supply chain, reshape the entire value chain, transform the legal department into a fully integrated business unit, and work cross-functionally with other enterprise business units to identify, assess, mitigate, manage and capture risk, opportunities and threats.
The concept of law new is a work in progress but it is clear that it will be driven by a combination of forces including legal buyer activism and the rise of corporate Goliaths that have the brand, capital, know-how, customer-centricity, data mastery, tech platforms, agile, multidisciplinary workforces and footprint in/familiarity with the legal industry. Ultimately, it will be up to the industry and its legacy stakeholders whether they want to be part of this movement or not.
In the Punk Hazard arc, fans got to see Law show off his newfound powers. He is now the owner of the Ope Ope no Mi Devil Fruit which gives him a power that allows him to create rooms around himself that are literally impenetrable and control everything within them. Fans also saw him use his new power against Yonko Big Mom in Wano.
While this is still an ongoing story, the fact that Law has a new source of power shows how far he has come in his journey. He has now moved closer to his goal of becoming Emperor. If he can overcome Blackbeard, who is stronger than himself, then he may finally be able to get the job done. It will be interesting to see how his new powers play out in the upcoming fight.