Keeping track of law new means recognizing the opportunities and challenges that come with an ever-changing legal landscape. From emerging areas of practice to innovative ways to deliver legal services, it’s crucial that attorneys remain aware of all the new developments and pitfalls that can affect their clients. This article explores how to harness the idea of law new to create value for their practices.
A new generation of lawyers is entering the workforce, bringing with them a wide range of technological skills and attitudes toward working with clients. Using these tools, they can offer a more efficient and effective service to their clients while also reducing the costs of the firm’s operations. This can create substantial long-term benefits for the firm, but it requires openness to new ideas and a willingness to embrace new technology.
At a recent NYU Law Forum, leading experts discussed the state and direction of merger law in the US. Dean Emeritus Richard Revesz ’77 said that while major shifts are happening, there is still much more work to be done in the areas of ethics and transparency.
Lawyers must be aware of the latest rules and regulations that impact their fields, including changes to federal and state statutes. It is also important to understand the implications of changes to laws that impact a local area, such as those that address privacy, data security and e-discovery. For example, new laws on privacy can impact how and when lawyers collect data from their clients, whether the information is shared with others outside of the firm or used for a legal matter.
New York’s legislature is considering many bills that could impact data privacy, including a bill that would require the city to provide data on how often police officers are searched for weapons or other dangerous items in their homes. The public has a right to know how government decision-making processes are conducted. They should be able to access the documents and statistics that lead to those decisions.
In California, a new law takes effect on January 1 that could bring a little more transparency to salary data in the workplace. While intense business opposition blocked other provisions of the bill that would have required employers to disclose salary ranges on job postings, this new law is a start. It will be interesting to see how this law and other legislation that impacts pay equity play out over time.