“New Law?”: You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet

“New Law?”: You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet

Businessman looking out of abstract opening in wall with bright daylight in concrete interior. ... [+] Concept for success. "New law" is a catchall industry term popularized in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. It is often linked to "legal tech," "legal ops," "ALSP's," and "legal innovation." Each is usually considered discretely, not as part of a larger change process. That begs the question: Has new law produced change that is impactful to legal consumers and society-at-large? That is what matters. The past fifteen years have produced changes in legal delivery. Legal operations has introduced established business processes, technology, and multidisciplinary expertise ("non-lawyers") to the industry. This is good delivery hygiene but not innovation. Legal ops is internally focused, not client-facing. It is tactical, not strategic. Internal efficiency is a building block for paradigm change that drives customer impact and enhanced experience. That is new law. Legal technology has proliferated during the past fifteen years. Many formerly "legal" positions and tasks have been automated. "The office" has begun to morph from a place to a platform. "Plug and play" solutions are becoming more common, and artificial intelligence is finding its way into the legal space. So too are an