Law is a fast-moving field and lawyers must stay ahead of new trends. One area of practice that has gained in popularity is what’s known as “law new.” This concept involves using unique strategies to offer clients help without impacting other areas of work that might be the firm’s primary focus.
What is law?
Law can be broadly defined as the set of rules, regulations and statutes that govern a society or area of business. Those rules can be as simple as traffic signs and speed limits or as complex as civil rights laws. The study of law is the foundation for a wide range of other disciplines, from anthropology to economics and beyond.
Historically, the legal system was based on utilitarian theories of justice, with philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and John Austin advocating that the purpose of any law should be to serve the greatest number of people in the most effective way. More recently, philosophical arguments have been raised by natural lawyers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Aquinas, who argue that the underlying purpose of any law should be to reflect and uphold certain innate moral principles.
LawNewsOnline – The legal news site for practitioners features litigation filings, case settlements, verdicts, regulation, enforcement, legislation, corporate deals, policy developments and more. The website also provides a series of daily newsletters for law firms and individuals. It’s available as a source on Lexis Advance.
The quarterly publication of the International Law Section brings together the latest topics and issues in international law. It is available online and in PDF formats for Section members. The journal is an excellent source of information on cross-border transactions and includes concrete, how-to advice for international practitioners.
The ABA’s quarterly newsletter covers news and updates on a variety of topics of interest to corporate and commercial lawyers. Topics include the Supreme Court’s EMTALA ruling, a rethink of the law of unintended consequences, the use of drones by government agencies and more. The ABA offers a free subscription to the newsletter to all its members. The ABA Law Library also offers an electronic version of the newsletter for its collection. The ABA Law Library also provides a complete index of the entire publication. The index is arranged by subject and is searchable by keyword. A list of articles from the newsletter is also available in full text for many articles, including the Table of Contents.