As most readers recognize, the legal landscape is shifting quickly and dramatically around the country. Rights and obligations that were once taken for granted are now called into question almost daily. And that process will likely only gain momentum after the congressional midterm elections this fall.

Here in New Jersey, the legal order has been relatively stable. So far. But even if that doesn’t change, it’s only a matter of time before the jurisprudential waves generated in Washington and state capitals wash over the Garden State’s economy and court system. When that happens, the professionals listed the 2022 NJBIZ Law Power 50 will, in large measure, determine how the state’s business, political and cultural climates are altered.

In the meantime, New Jersey policymakers have been creating ripples of their own. For one thing, the Murphy administration has, for good or ill, tipped the scales of the employment relationship toward workers. Business owners and corporate executives are dealing with fallout from those actions and have turned to their attorneys for help in sorting out the new rules.

For another, the voters themselves caused one of the most important developments in recent memory when they approved – by a wide margin – adult recreational use of cannabis. The result was an entirely new industry and the regulatory apparatus to govern the business. Advocates working for legalization over the years have now become crucial players in the establishment of green commerce according to the principles enacted by the Legislature, and in guiding would-be cannabis entrepreneurs through a rapidly evolving bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, businesses are still dealing with continuing predations of COVID-19, preparing for a massive inflow of federal infrastructure funding and contending with new levels of economic uncertainty. All that, combined with the normal, everyday red tape and expense of doing business here makes for a lot of legal work ahead.

Reading these profiles should provide some reassurance that New Jersey’s legal community is up to the task. Let us know what you think.

As always, the top 10 honorees are presented in numerical order; the remaining 40 are listed alphabetically.