Underdog Bloomberg Goes Toe-to-Toe with Lexis, Westlaw in Legal Info Market
A flat fee of $450 per attorney per month appears to be the ace in the hole for underdog Bloomberg Law as it enters the electronic research market and competes for law firm business against established giants LexisNexis and Westlaw.
After an early test-marketing effort years ago failed to win fans among law students, the company scrapped the amber-print-on-black-background design familiar to faithful readers of its news columns and tried again, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) in a lengthy article about Bloomberg’s new service.
Although the still-significant fee is expected to appeal to corporate firms rather than all practitioners, the certainty of the pricing—both Lexis and Westlaw charge based on usage—may offer Bloomberg an edge, according to the newspaper.
And another advantage to the upstart’s service is the speed with which it updates its docket service, says Lillian Arcuri. She is the director of library services at Chadbourne & Parke, which was an early purchaser of “numerous” Bloomberg Law subscriptions after it was offered an opportunity to try out the legal research product last year.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Exclusive: Inside the New Westlaw, Lexis & Bloomberg Platforms”
