Last week in my advanced legal research class we discussed the cost of the big legal research companies and whether there were viable alternatives out there. My first big revelation was how much Westlaw and LexisNexis actually cost. We were given some proprietary numbers for individual searches and it was STAGGERING how much it costs to perform a single search of the ALLFEDS database when paying for searches individually.
Now, those prices are a little bit exaggerated because usually attorneys have some sort of “all you can eat” pricing regime with the individual prices only when reaching outside of your jurisdiction. For example, access to all TX cases, and the 5th Circuit, along with a variety of other resources for a solo practitioner was quoted at $199/month ($2388/year). I have to admit that I was stunned it was that low. LexisNexis didn’t give me a simple quote, but they were offering an 8 week free trial of their total research products. When I talked to attorneys even a few years ago, the number seemed MUCH higher. I believe that some of this flexibility in pricing and products comes from the appearance of new products in the marketplace.
Laura Bergus over at Social Media Law Student wrote a great review of FastCase, who has now offered a fantastic and FREE iPhone app. LoisLaw is offered by many state bar associations as part of the yearly fees. Solutions are popping up all over the place and for that I am truly grateful. I’d love to practice as a solo practitioner some day and I know that having more options other than the “big two” will really help solo practices bring their expenses down.
One Comment
They cost the earth but where would we be without them?!?
As someone who’s recently had their student log-in account deactivated (I graduated last month and my LLM finished last October) I have to confess that I’m heartbroken to have lost Lexis, Westlaw, Zetoc and all the other databases I’ve come to rely on.
http://lawactually.blogspot.com/2010/04/very-sad-day-for-legal-research.html
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[...] Ha! The answer to that is nowhere. There is no free Westlaw. Now, you can look at books for free at the SMU Underwood Law Library during public access hours but sadly the library is cutting back on keeping their print collections up to date because the electronic versions are used so much more frequently. Otherwise, you’re out of luck. There are growing free, open-source legal services out there and I have more information on that here. [...]