Tag Archives for " Lexis "

Oct 28

Beware of 5-year contracts.

By Kate | Best Practices , Contract Negotiations

Negotiating with the vendors can be a frustrating, drawn-out and often unsatisfying process. For many of our clients, negotiating ranks with tax-time on everyone’s list of fun things to do.  One of the key emotions we see in clients approaching the end of a contract with either Westlaw or Lexis is dread. So, a longer contract with fewer renewals sounds like a great idea.   However, with rare exceptions, a long-term contract is among the worst paths a firm can choose, for several reasons. The first reason seems obvious: change. Technology and pricing are continuously changing. You wouldn’t buy a plan that kept you from upgrading your phone for 5 years, would you? Additionally, prices are always changing, and for Lexis and Westlaw that change has been downward. The second reason is trust. If you don’t trust your vendor enough to deliver a good deal every 2-3 years, why on Earth would you believe a 4-5 year offer is better?   Finally, who knows what the legal information landscape will look like in 5 years? Generally, a longer contract benefits the vendor. For legal information contracts, we always advise keeping the term to within your near- and long-term forecasts, generally 3 years or fewer.

Sep 22

Westlaw & Lexis: “Path to Commoditization” White Paper Concludes Firms Don’t Need Both Vendors

By Michael Feit | Sole Provider , White Papers

“Unless Westlaw or Lexis gain new ‘must-have’ advantages, most firms will have only one vendor going forward. Too many large law firms have already eased the fear that elimination of one of these vendors will cripple a firm or expose it to malpractice.

Feit Consulting projects that more than half of the remaining dual-provider firms will move to a sole provider in their next contract cycle. 

Declining online recovery rates will increase law firms’ costs even further. The elimination of a vendor provides firms with a rare opportunity to utilize savings to purchase other complementary tools that better enhance their legal information infrastructure. The cost exposure to the firms who retain both vendors is no longer justifiable.

Firms will continue to balance the overwhelming preference for Westlaw versus the low pricing of Lexis. Westlaw’s extreme popularity and better interface is a challenge to overcome for many firms, but the potential savings of eliminating Westlaw is too great to ignore. Lexis’ sole-provider satisfaction rates illustrate they are a worthy option.”

For more information about this white paper that describes the rise and fall of Westlaw and Lexis, click here.

Sep 09

Reasons for Retaining Westlaw/Lexis

By Michael Feit | Vendors , White Papers

Excerpt from Westlaw & Lexis: Path to Commoditization:

Feit Consulting’s Westlaw/Lexis Sentiment Survey clearly depicts the reasons firms retained Westlaw and Lexis, and these reasons could not be more different from one another. Popularity and functionality are the main reasons Westlaw is retained. Conversely, these are the lowest-ranked reasons firms retained Lexis. Nearly 50% of survey respondents stated that their reason for retaining Lexis is lower pricing.

To learn more about what the Westlaw & Lexis: Path to Commoditization white paper has to offer, click here.

Jun 01

White Paper “Westlaw & Lexis: Path to Commoditization” Now Available

By Michael Feit | Vendors , White Papers

Westlaw & Lexis: Path to Commoditization shares an analysis on the current state of the market, supported by data collected from 98% of the large law firm market.

Our white paper provides law firm administrators the data and context behind this trend to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing market.

Gain critical insight into what firms may expect in the future on recovery rates and overhead, as well as personal thoughts from firm administrators about their satisfaction and expectations of these two vendors.

For more information, click here.

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