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I guess I didn't think of the "per search" charges. That said, Using West's Digest and their case histories is a neccessary step in legal research for me. I ca
by stinkytaco 17y ago
I guess I didn't think of the "per search" charges.
That said, Using West's Digest and their case histories is a neccessary step in legal research for me. I can see this for general searches on a topic, but for the real nitty gritty you need to get into West/Lexis. To summarize, I think West will do just fine. It might mean one less leather portfolio for law librarians every year.
- htsh 17y agoWhen I worked at a biglaw firm a few years back, we were told that the shelf-price of one of these wide searches was upwards of $800 for the firm and we were encouraged to narrow down the search as much as possible. The cost for recovering a single case: $6. They didn't actually pay these fees and had an umbrella agreement, but the cost of this umbrella agreement was determined by how widely the firm searched. However you look at this, this is a big blow to Lexis/Westlaw and their monopoly position has taken quite a hit. I agree that they add a ton of value and will still be around, but its hard to overstate how big of a deal this is. Its especially big for non-profit legal clinics and independent lawyers practicing on their own, which had difficulty doing any sort of legal research without coming to an agreement with one of these duopoly actors.
- igurari 17y agoI agree that West/Lexis will still be very lucrative and continue to rule the legal research space for many years to come. I also agree that they add much value (despite competing with them, I have come to appreciate a lot of the things they do to add value). However, their operating profit margins will likely drop from the 25-30% where they now stand.