It will come as no surprise that the roster of legal publishing and tech innovator offerings of Covid-19 resources continues to grow. Fastcase, PacerPro, PubK Law and Tax Notes have new Covid-19 resources.Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg Law mentioned in an earlier post now have added free resources which out from behind the paywall.Well Fastcase has gone “Amazon” – they have basically built a Covid-19 Shopping Mall which includes a gallery of their own resources, affiliates resources, government resources and competitors resources – all for a good cause!

Federal Legislative Response to Coronavirus
Thomson Reuters Skopos Labs

Bloomberg Law has brought their very popular In Focus Covid-19 page out from behind the paywall. There are  3 “trackers ” which provide a survey of  court operations during Covid-19, state quarantine and public health laws and Covid-19 related labor laws.The page also provides, news, analysis, regulatory guidance e.g .reporting Covid issues to the SEC. According to Bloomberg Law President Joe Breda “We are committed to continuing to add to this collection, and possibly other features of BLAW in the future.” There also a Bloomberg Law Corona Virus news page  That offers great deal of public content as well as a free newsletter.

Fastcase Covid-19 “Mall of American Resources”
Covid Resources “Gallery”   Fastcase COO, Steve Errick sent me an email about Fastcase’s Covid-19 efforts. ”We are supporting our bar members by providing them a list of resources including noting where our publishing peers provide Continue Reading New Covid-19 Resources From Fastcase, PacerPro, Tax Notes and PubK Law. Free Covid Resources From Westlaw and Bloomberg Law

It is no surprise that following the launch of their  AI enabled motion drafting platform Compose in February,  Casetext has secured  a new round of funding.  The $8.2 million  brings Casetext’s total funding to $40 million. Inside investors who participated in this round include Union Square Investors, Canvas Ventures and Y Combinator Continuity. The press release also refers to an unnamed “top law firm”  as leading the round.

The announcement comes in the wake of Casetext’s launch of their game changing new Compose software. Compose goes where no legal product has gone before. It actually helps a lawyer draft a motion tailored to specific federal Continue Reading Casetext Secures $8.2 Million Venture Funding

Legal publishers have thrown their considerable editorial and technical resources at crafting new documents, pages, and toolkits to help lawyers locate everything from emergency pandemic declarations to drafting an SEC disclosure about the impact of COVID-19. Lawyers need to untangle the myriad legal issues impacting virtually every area of legal practice. We are surely witnessing the emergence of a new pandemic law practice over the course of several weeks. I have summarized the landscape of tools produced by legal publishers to help lawyers get oriented and “jump start” their practice in the “new normal” of law in a time of pandemic.

Bloomberg Law has created a special resource page In Focus: Coronavirus, which offers news, guidance documents, and trackers including the State Quarantine and Public Health Laws, Court Responses to COVID-19, and international and federal agency information regarding the pandemic. The Coronavirus Tax Watch page includes the latest news on the evolving tax landscape in response to the business and economic impacts of Coronavirus; Continue Reading Legal Publishers Roll Out Covid-19 Resources, Toolkits, Documents, Advice (Some Even Free)

Today Fastcase is announcing the Launch on the Journal of Emerging Litigation. I think we can assume that Covid-19 Litigation will be emerging in the publication pipeline. The Journal is being produced in partnership with HB Litigation Conferences which was founded by Tom Hagy – a pioneer in niche litigation reporting. Hagy is the former Publisher and Managing Editor of LexisNexis Mealy’s Litigation Reports.

The new journal will be published by Full Court Press, the imprint of Fastcase. The new publication will be informed by analytic trends identified in Docket Alarm as well as Law Street Media news Continue Reading Fastcase Announces Launch of Emerging Litigation Journal and Addition of 87 ABA Titles

I have been working on a post about the various ways legal publishers have been responding to the current pandemic, but this news was too good to hold back for a longer piece. It is not often that legal publishers forego the opportunity for revenue. Many legal publishers have begun publishing kits and resources for their subscribers which sit behind a paywall.  Kudos for Lexis Nexis for being the first publisher (that I know of) to make subscription resources available to the entire legal community for free. Content includes news from Law360 as well as a toolkit covering corporate, commercial,privacy/security, capital markets and life science issues.  According to the press release, they are providing these resources “to help legal professionals, lawmakers and business leaders become better informed and successfully navigate the legal issues and intricacies surrounding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of North American  Research Solutions is quoted in the press release: ““In this moment of fluid change and uncertainty, we couldn’t think of a better way to help our customers and the community than by offering full access to breaking news and analysis on COVID-19 from our award-winning Law360 newsroom and the Lexis Practice Advisor Coronavirus Resource Kit that helps lawyers practice and provide better counsel to their clients,”

Here is the full press release.

LexisNexis Offers Free, Comprehensive COVID-19 News Coverage and Practical Guidance Content from Law360 and Lexis Practice Advisor

 

  • Law360 covers COVID-19’s impact on the government, business and the legal profession;
  • Lexis Practice Advisor toolkit provides guidance and insights across multiple practice areas to support decision-making and counsel on COVID-19 matters

 

NEW YORK – March 16, 2020 – LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of information and analytics, today announced two free resources from Law360® and Lexis Practice Advisor® to help legal professionals, lawmakers and business leaders become better informed and successfully navigate the legal issues and intricacies surrounding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

“In this moment of fluid change and uncertainty, we couldn’t think of a better way to help our customers and the community than by offering full access to breaking news and analysis on COVID-19 from our award-winning Law360 newsroom and the Lexis Practice Advisor Coronavirus Resource Kit that helps lawyers practice and provide better counsel to their clients,” said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO, North American Research Solutions at LexisNexis.

Law360 has launched a dedicated COVID-19 page containing breaking news, in-depth features and expert analysis and commentary on all things relating to COVID-19 and the law. Its comprehensive coverage and content illuminates how the global pandemic has impacted the legal industry and the practice of law, as well as the U.S. court system, federal agencies, industries, businesses and more. The free content is available at www.law360.com/coronavirus or delivered via electronic newsletter.

“The sheer volume of COVID-19 news and information makes it difficult for legal professionals, business leaders and government officials to comprehend its broader impact. That’s why Law360 is investing significant resources to ensure our readers are well-informed and better able to make decisions pertaining to COVID-19,” said Anne Urda, Editor in Chief, Law360. “In situations such as this, LexisNexis believes it is our top responsibility to inform the legal community and ensure everyone has access to as much information as possible, which is why we’ve made this content available to the public at no cost.”

The Law360 COVID-19 pages currently feature more than 180 stories across topics such as:

  • Courts: Rulings, impacted cases, an interactive map of U.S. court closings and more
  • Legal Industry: Impact on law firms and their clients, insights from legal practitioners and experts
  • Practices: Employment, insurance, securities, M&A, contracts, and more
  • Industries: Banking/finance, travel, hospitality, entertainment, pharmaceutical and more
  • Government: New legislation, travel and trade restrictions, loans/tax relief, and more
  • Global: Impact across major European (and Asian) markets and industries

To help U.S. attorneys manage the evolving COVID-19 crisis, Lexis Practice Advisor has developed a Coronavirus Resource Kit covering a wide range of topics across multiple practice areas. The Resource Kit addresses emerging issues and offers guidance relating to COVID-19 and the law. The Resource Kit’s content includes impact analysis on commercial deals and compliance, forms and guides for transactional and labor/employment contracts, regulatory tracking, and more. Among the areas covered by the Resource Kit include:

  • Capital Markets & Corporate Governance
  • Commercial Transactions
  • Corporate and M&A
  • Data Security & Privacy
  • Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
  • Life Sciences

LexisNexis will continuously update its COVID-19 news coverage and Coronavirus Resource Kit, making them freely available to legal practitioners for the duration of the epidemic in order to help maintain the rule of law and return to normalcy as quickly as possible.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that help customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 10,600 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

 

About Law360
Law360, a LexisNexis company, is a one-stop source for legal news and in-depth analysis, with up-to-the-minute coverage of litigation, regulation and enforcement, legislation, executive orders, administrative hearings, corporate deal-making, and more across dozens of practice areas, industries, and jurisdictions. With a unique blend of cutting-edge technology and journalistic expertise, Law360 delivers the intelligence legal and business professionals need to remain experts and get ahead of the curve. Visit www.law360.com to find out what more than 1 million readers at top law firms, Fortune 1000 companies, and key government agencies already know.  

I have been working on a post about the various ways legal publishers have been responding to the current pandemic, but this news was too good to hold back for a longer piece. It is not often that legal publishers forego the opportunity for revenue. Many legal publishers have begun publishing kits and resources for their subscribers which sit behind a paywall.  Kudos for Lexis Nexis for being the first publisher (that I know of) to make subscription resources available to the entire legal community for free. Content includes news from Law360 as well as a toolkit covering corporate, commercial,privacy/security, capital markets and life science issues.  According to the press release, they are providing these resources “to help legal professionals, lawmakers and business leaders become better informed and successfully navigate the legal issues and intricacies surrounding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Continue Reading LexisNexis Offers Free COVID-19 News and Practical Guidance From Law360 and Practice Advisor

This morning the American Association of Law Libraries issued a press release stating that they are monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation closely. The press release stated that the safety of members and program attendees is the “top priority.” At this point they have no plans to cancel or postpone upcoming events in Chicago  (Leadership Academy, Competitive Intelligence Strategies, etc.)

Registration for the 2020 Annual Meeting and Conference, July 11-14  in New Orleans is open. There are no reported cases of the virus in the Continue Reading American Association of Law Libraries Monitoring Coronavirus– Still Planning to Hold Upcoming Events and AALL Conference

Please take the 2019-2020 Dewey B Strategic Survey here. Review the 2019 highlights below and tell your colleagues about the best and the worst of 2019 in legal publishing and legal tech.The survey will close on Sunday March 1st.

The Highlights 2019 was a relatively quiet launch year in legal technology and publishing.  The year opened with speculation about the impact of layoffs at Thomson Reuters. Mid-year Wolters Kluwer suffered a significant malware  attack  on May 7 but was fully back online within a week.

LexisNexis announced the full integration of one of it’s oldest acquisitions. Courtlink which was acquired in 2001 was finally integrated into their flagship product  Lexis Advance.  The market responded with mixed reviews.

Bloomberg re-branded itself as Bloomberg Information Group (BIG.) Sadly this signified the retirement of BNA ( Bureau of National Affairs) as a brand. Bloomberg had acquired BNA in 2011 add a significant library of secondary sources including newsletters and books. The full integration of BNA into the Bloomberg platform allowed the company to revert to the simplified pricing model they had pioneered during their launch into the online legal information market.

Fastcase continued an aggressive spree of acquisitions and alliances covering public records (TransUnion), bankruptcy forms, Expert witness information (Juris and Courtroom Insight)  and  legal news (Law Street Media) clearly positioning product to move into the large firm market.

The Year of the Brief Analyser. Casetext CARA which launched the first brief analysis tool in 2016  now has a competitor in the Westlaw Edge “Quick Cite tool.”  At the 2019 American Association of Law Libraries AALL Annual Conference both Bloomberg and LexisNexis previewed their brief citiator tools which are expected to launch in 2020.

Please respond to the survey here.

Casetext is launching an AI driven drafting tool called Compose. Compose does not promise to replace lawyers – it
offers to make lawyers more efficient by automating the first draft of a motion or brief. It can also function as a tutorial for a new lawyer who is assigned with drafting a motion for the first time. Casetext is currently working with a group of law firm “partners” who will help them develop an expanded library of motions. According to Pablo Arredondo, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Continue Reading Casetext’s Compose AI Powered Drafting of Briefs and Motions – Lawyers Still Required

Reposting Press Release: Selected ABA content to be available on vLex platform will provides AI enabled legal research platform with content with material from over 100 countries. Wonder if this could lead to  vLex content being available to ABA members in the future?

A new partnership between vLex and the American Bar Association (ABA) brings hundreds of valuable and authoritative legal books and journals to millions of legal practitioners, law firms and educational institutions around the world.

As one of the largest legal publishers in the world, the American Bar Association publishes a wide selection of books and journals across multiple subject areas. Now, a broad selection of these titles will be available on vLex’s unique legal research and intelligence platform alongside global legal content from over 100 countries.

This partnership brings a wealth of benefits to international practitioners, comparative researchers and law librarians alike. With advanced legal technology features such as AI-driven search as a gateway to essential primary and secondary legal materials all in one location, vLex, enhanced by ABA content, delivers unparalleled value for vLex users worldwide. The new books and journals available on vLex will cover areas of the law such as business, litigation, intellectual property, international, tax, cybersecurity and arbitration.

Beyond the benefits to vLex customers, this partnership provides ABA authors with an expanded global audience and new platform on which to feature their legal content. vLex’s CEO Lluis Faus shares his enthusiasm for the new partnership:

“This is a key partnership for vLex globally. The ABA is the largest American legal publisher in terms of secondary source content, and through this collaboration we will be able to integrate world-leading thought leadership content on subject areas including intellectual property, international law and many others for our users.” Continue Reading ABA and International Research Platform VLex Announce Global Partnership