New York Law New

Law new is a guide to online resources related to the laws and government of the State of New York. The focus is on sites that offer full texts of laws, regulations and court decisions. Other useful materials, including those written primarily for lawyers and general information on New York’s history of law and government have also been included.

case law: The body of legal decisions that judges make about the law and how courts interpret it. It is the main source of law in most courts, and it can be more reliable than statutes (“codes”) or constitutions.

court reporter: A person who writes down, word for word, what is said in a courtroom. They generally use a stenographic machine or shorthand and can give you a transcript.

conservatorship: A type of case asking the court to appoint someone to manage the financial affairs of another. This is a similar process to guardianship and has the same effect.

counsel fees: The money paid to a lawyer for his or her work on a case. This is often used in divorce actions where the spouse who has less money asks the court to pay his or her attorney fees. The law was changed in 2025 to require the court to grant such requests, and forms and calculators were revised accordingly.

citation: A way of finding a case in a law book or other legal reference. The first two numbers are the year, the third number is a letter that indicates the county and the last six numbers indicate the case number.

CPLR: Civil Practice Law and Rules: The New York State law that gives procedures for cases.