“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.