Once hesitant and unfocused, it is now a major force in the land -- as witnessed by the crippling strikes in recent weeks against a new labor law that unions say threatens job security.

CNN: CINEMA

Alarmed about the disruption, the employer called Steven Hurd, a partner at the New York law firm Proskauer in its labor and employment law department.

FORBES: Talking Politics At Work Can Get You Fired

For its big customers, Reed Elsevier is building a global internet law source, so that a corporate lawyer in New York, say, can quickly retrieve French labor case law in English.

FORBES: Double Dutch No Longer

The appointee will also have the ability to break municipal labor contracts starting later this month when a new state law takes effect.

WSJ: Governor to Appoint Financial Overseer for Detroit

He has served as deputy mayor and labor commissioner in New York City and is senior counsel with the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld.

FORBES: Leadership

More importantly, the New York law grants enforcement power to the state's Department of Labor.

FORBES: Business In The Beltway