Law new is more than just a trendy industry term. It reflects the growing reality that lawyers need to change the way they do business. Law new is about finding ways to reach and serve clients in different ways than the traditional models that have dominated practice for decades. It’s about experimenting with and embracing strategies that don’t fit into the legal mold, whether that means working with underserved communities or coming up with new pricing models.

The legal world is rapidly changing, and that change is being driven by a variety of factors, including: client demand for flexible services; increasing sophistication of corporate legal buyers and the need to address their evolving needs with the same efficiency that they use to buy other professional services; the growing number of technology-enabled legal service providers; increasing competition among firms for new business from companies of all sizes; and the rise of corporate Goliaths with the brand, capital, tech expertise, customer-centricity, agile, multidisciplinary workforces, data mastery, and technology platforms that the law firm ecosystem has long lacked.

These changes are creating a dynamic and fast-growing area of law called “law new.” The practice of law today demands that lawyers embrace the ideas behind this concept.

A new law can be introduced by anyone who wants to make it, and it must go through a process of research, discussion, changes, and voting in one chamber of Congress before moving on to the other. After a bill passes both houses of Congress, it is sent to the president for final approval.

Several states have passed laws to protect data privacy. These new laws vary in their scope, from requiring businesses to publish salary ranges to giving residents and consumers the right to request that their personal data be erased. Some experts question how much these new laws will do to change the behavior of businesses or their employees. Some liken them to Wild West bounties, such as the one dangled in 2021 by the Texas legislature for people who helped enforce its ban on abortions.

Governor Hochul has signed legislation to protect New York consumers from medicine price-gouging during a shortage and to stop the reporting of medical debt to credit agencies. He has also approved legislation to curb predatory subscription services and to allow customers to cancel auto-renewals on certain products and services. These and other recent laws demonstrate the importance of continuing to protect consumer interests.