Introduction: the relation of legal sphere and society assumes mutual compliance: public relations have to meet rules of law, and rules of law, in turn, have to be equitable to the interests of the main participants of public relations. Social changes define both the conditions for the implementation of legal norms and their relevance, since many norms in a changing environment that previously effectively realized the basic needs of members of society become irrelevant. Respectively, the more intensively social changes, the load of area of the law connected with the need of compliance to the interests of the main participants of social process is higher. Materials and Methods: the substantive part of the article is based on classical sociological studies reflecting the essence and principles of the functioning of the basic social institutions. The leading researches devoted to socially-philosophical and sociological consideration of the legal sphere are analyzed. The main methods used in the study are analysis, synthesis, abstraction, systematic approach. At certain stages of the research, an appeal is made to the methodological foundations of structural functionalism. Results: in the article, the main current trends mentioning conditions of implementation of standard and legal regulation are considered. Discussion and Conclusions: the position according to which in modern conditions lawmaking has to lean on the powerful social and research mechanism which is carrying out predictive activity and disclosing the prospects of social development and the main vectors of change of society in its attitude towards the legal sphere is proved.