February 2010 Issue

Cover Story

Wired!

There’s a battle about to break out on your computer screen. On the third floor of West’s sprawling corporate headquarters outside Minneapolis, a veritable army of professionals has been working for nearly five years to create a revamped Westlaw. They are changing everything from the interface users see on their PC screens to all the technology that makes it work behind the scenes.

Known as WestlawNext, the new platform will debut this month.

On its own suburban campus near Dayton, Ohio, LexisNexis—the other half of the duopoly that has ruled online legal research for almost 40 years (some call it “Wexis”)—is planning its own revamped platform. Referred to internally as New Lexis, it is slated to roll out publicly later this year on a date yet to be determined.

Both companies claim to be creating a legal research experience that will mimic the ease of use their customers have come to expect from the leading Internet search engine, Google.

The updated services come not a moment too soon, since the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine has just gotten into the legal research business. In November, the company announced that its Scholar search engine now contains more than 80 years of U.S. case law from federal and state courts, as well as U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1791—all of it free.

Feature Section

Just Like Everyone

Inclusiveness efforts seek to make GLBT lawyers—and all others—feel at home.

Grade Anxiety

Firms fret about clients rating their work.

ABA Connection

The War of Winds

Wind farms are a growing source of clean energy. But some of the neighbors are beginning to complain.

Opening Statements

We Can Work It Out

Soy Vey!

See for Yourself

Philly Payback

The Results Are In

The National Pulse

The Flip Side of ‘Reverse Payments’

Crunching Clerks

Supreme Court Report

A Touch of Terror?

McElhaney on Litigation

Meet Mongo

Business of Law

Virtual Escape

Going Mobile

Bank On It

Tweet Deals

Outsiders Inside

Search and Deceive

Ethics

A Breach Too Far

Your ABA

Strength in Numbers

Halftime Report

ABA Announcements

President's Message

Holding a Mirror to the Profession

Report from Governmental Affairs

Cultivating Capitol Hill

Obiter Dicta

Pur$e String Proponents

Precedents

February 2, 1848

Letters to the Editor

Bloggy Eyes

Advertising

Advertisers in This Issue