When it comes to the legal industry, law firms have a lot of different options to help clients. One form of service that has become more popular is known as new law, but what does this term actually mean? Essentially, it means that law firm’s are finding ways to provide services in non-traditional methods. This can include working with underserved communities or creating strategies that have not been seen before within the legal field. This can also mean embracing technology and focusing on process over product. This approach can be used as a way to increase profitability and client satisfaction, but it should not be considered to be a replacement for traditional practice methods.
In New York, a new law is helping to combat the opioid crisis by allowing local pharmacies and health care providers to give out fentanyl testing supplies. The legislation, which is named after Matthew Horan, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2020, will reduce the chances of accidental drug overdoses in the area by making it easier to test for the presence of this substance.
Another new law is aimed at protecting privacy by adding requirements for agencies to promptly notify affected persons when they suffer a data breach that may reveal personal information. The bill would also require them to notify the City’s chief privacy officer, the Office of Cyber Command and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.
As for federal legislation, a number of bills have been introduced to change the way Congress operates. A bill can be created by a senator or a representative and must pass the House of Representatives and the Senate before becoming a law. During the process, members of both bodies will research, discuss and make changes to the bill before it is put to a vote.
If it is approved, the law will be codified in the Statutes at Large and published by the Government Printing Office. In addition, the law will receive a public law (PL) number and a slip law text. A PL number is a unique identifier assigned to a law enacted by Congress and can be accessed using LexisNexis or Bloomberg Law. The PL numbers can be linked to the slip laws via a link provided by those services. This link will only appear once the slip law is available through those services. The PL numbering system is maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration. For more information on this and other governmental publications, visit the Government Publishing Office.