Item: Thomson Reuters Westlaw
Rating: 5
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Thomson Reuters Westlaw

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use WestLaw as one of two legal research platforms. I have used WestLaw since law school and have never looked back. I only practice immigration law, so the most important thing for me are secondary sources and periodicals so I can stay up-to-date. WestLaw had superior content to Lexis when I decided to sign a contract. I need to get answers to my procedural and substantive questions fast and WestLaw helps me do that quickly and efficiently.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Immigration content
Navigation is fairly intuitive better UI than Lexis

Cons

Overpriced
Doesn't link statutes the way that immigration lawyers cite them
User interface could be better

Return on Investment

Too expensive
Need the content it provides
Good secondary sources

Alternatives Considered

LexisOne

I picked WestLaw because they had better secondary sources for my immigration law practice. I've also used WestLaw a lot more over the years so I am more comfortable with the interface. Lexis is slightly cheaper but not meaningfully so. Again, lawyers are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to legal research platforms. The industry needs to be disrupted as both companies feel stuck in the early '00s

Other Software Used

Clio, Nimble, Todoist

Likelihood to Recommend

WestLaw and/or Lexis Nexis are necessary for the sophisticated practitioner. Unfortunately, there aren't viable alternatives for case law research and legal research platforms. WestLaw has superior secondary sources for the immigration lawyer, so I would recommend it for that. It's not for the budge conscious, but it is what it is until the legal research duopoly is disrupted.

Comments

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WestLaw has Superior Secondary Sources for the Immigration Lawyer