Legal Research Software
Best Legal Research Software include:
Thomson Reuters Westlaw, Lexis Advance, Lexis Advance Quicklaw (formerly LexisNexis Quicklaw), Thomson Reuters Practical Law, Business Advisory Plan, Lexis Search Advantage, Bloomberg Law, and Aderant Handshake.
Legal Research Software Overview
What is Legal Research Software?
Legal research software helps law firms find useful information for building cases and drafting documents. Software vendors offer access to searchable databases of legal documents. They may also provide analytical tools to help interpret search results.
The existing body of legal documentation is large and can be difficult to navigate. Adequately preparing to argue a case or advise a client requires extensive research. Using legal research software can reduce research times for attorneys. Supplemental tools help attorneys evaluate the strength of their case or plan their court strategy.
Vendors actively curate and update their databases to include new decisions, overturned cases, and other changes to existing law.
Legal Research Software Features & Capabilities
Common Features
Most vendors offering legal research software include:
Access to databases of legal information
Active database curation to keep information relevant
Relevant articles and analysis from newspapers and journals
Updates on current events and changes to the legal landscape
Research support teams to assist users with searches
Additional Tools
Some software includes additional tools to supplement and interpret the information in the vendor’s database. These tools add features such as:
Analysis of public records to find information on companies, people, and assets
Validation of citations to ensure that cited decisions are still considered good law
Infographics showing relationships between cases relevant to a search
Assisted document drafting
Analytics for specific judges, firms, and case types
Pricing Information
The price for legal research software varies depending on the number of users and the features included. Most vendors use a monthly subscription plan. Per-month costs range from $50 per month to over $600 per month.
Some vendors also offer pay-as-you-go plans, charging per minute used or per document viewed. Vendors may also charge extra fees to view documents outside the scope of a subscription. For instance, some subscriptions only include legal documents from a particular state or region.
Legal Research Products
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