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Thomson Reuters Practical Law vs. Thomson Reuters Westlaw

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Thomson Reuters Practical Law

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/AThomson Reuters offers Practical Law, a research assistance tool containing up-to-date legal intelligence decisions, aimed at providing strategic advantage to legal teams.

    $632

    per month

    Thomson Reuters Westlaw

    Score9.5 out of 10
    N/AWestlaw, now supported by Thomson Reuters is a legal research software and database, emphasizing access to a breadth of case law.

    $115

    per month

    Pricing
    Thomson Reuters Practical LawThomson Reuters Westlaw
    Editions & Modules
    Practical Law for Government - Basic
    $119.00
    per month per seat
    Practical Law for Government - Essentials
    $166.00
    per month per seat
    Practical Law for Law Firms - Drafting and Negotiating
    $199.20
    per month per seat
    Practical Law for Law Firms - Litigation and Advisory
    $199.20
    per month per seat
    Practical Law for Government - Premium
    $238.00
    per month per seat
    Practical Law for Law Firms - Premium
    $427.20
    per month per seat
    Practical Law General Counsel - US
    $632.70
    per month per seat
    Practical Law General Counsel - Connect US
    $1,399.35
    per month per seat
    Practical Law General Counsel - Connect US Dynamic
    $1,571.30
    per month per seat
    Westlaw Edge Single State Essentials
    $115.00
    per month
    Westlaw Edge Single State Primary Law
    $183.20
    per month
    Westlaw Edge Single State Primary Law
    $237.00
    per month
    Westlaw Edge All States Primary Law
    $249.60
    per month
    Westlaw Edge All States and Federal Primary Law
    $315.20
    per month
    Westlaw Edge Single State Primary Law and Analytical
    $404.00
    per month
    Westlaw Edge Premium
    $582.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Thomson Reuters Practical LawThomson Reuters Westlaw
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsDiscounts available for multi-year plans.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Thomson Reuters Practical LawThomson Reuters Westlaw
    Considered Both Products
    Thomson Reuters
    Chose Thomson Reuters Practical Law
    They stack up generally the same, but the interface and layout are just different. Lexis and Westlaw seem to be better for case law and citations, but Practical Law is better for legislation and articles that get to the point of what I need without having to read a case.
    Incentivized
    Chose Thomson Reuters Practical Law
    They are pretty similar. I rely on practical law for certain practice areas more, and rely on the other platforms for other areas as they are more comprehensive and up to date. Lexis also is connected with Law360, and has a different set of resources, and has a strong …
    Incentivized
    Thomson Reuters
    Chose Thomson Reuters Westlaw
    Thomson is more user-friendly; easier to use and a much cheaper alternative. Also, Thomson's customer service is head and shoulders above the competition; always available and intelligent.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    50%
    Would buy again
    3 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    User Ratings
    Thomson Reuters Practical LawThomson Reuters Westlaw
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    9.5
    (12 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.5
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.1
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Thomson Reuters Practical LawThomson Reuters Westlaw
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Thomson Reuters
    PracticalLaw offers excellent Practice Notes, Checklists, Precedents, and Toolkits for a variety of practice areas - which is very helpful to in-house counsel and law clerks that are working on files across different practice areas. Less appropriate when there are already many resources available to me to help in drafting documents - then there is not much use to look up PLC.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thomson Reuters
    Perhaps well-suited in enterprise agreements where many users need access to many areas, and a giant contract is cost effective. This was a good company to work with as a student and instructor where value was not my specific concern. I cannot speak to the value paid by the responsible party in that context.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Thomson Reuters
    • News articles.
    • Specific content on areas of law.
    • Research jury verdicts and dispositive motions decisions.
    Read full review
    Thomson Reuters
    • The headnotes allow me to quickly read through the key aspects of the case.
    • Keycites make for quick efficient searches.
    • The flagging system is great for making sure the case is still good law.
    • Ability to save highlighting and comments on cases makes for organized research.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Thomson Reuters
    • Some resources are more detailed and on point than others
    • Competitors offer platforms that are more user-friendly
    • Sometimes navigating back to an old resource takes a bit more time than other platforms
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thomson Reuters
    • The program logs me off rather quickly when I have a window open stagnant on Practical Law. As I don't believe Practical Law bills per minute of use, I wish it would stay open longer.
    • Most of the corporate forms are still unavailable or not maintained in all 50 states. Would love to see practicioners like myself used as resources to get those updated and current.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Thomson Reuters
    No answers on this topic
    Thomson Reuters
    There is no real competition
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Thomson Reuters
    No answers on this topic
    Thomson Reuters
    The specific product ordered was fine, but it was far too easy to mindlessly incur ancillary charges without warning. This is much less user friendly than other, similar providers of services such as LexisNexis. The Thomson Reuters Westlaw experience is not intuitive when compared to other, similar providers and ended up being less cost effective.
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Thomson Reuters
    No answers on this topic
    Thomson Reuters
    I was passed around like a hot potato and nameless responders were somewhat disrespectful and "snippy." There was no offer to resolve the issue I complained about, and I was basically made to feel as though I was lying about the problem. The solution was easy: fix my customized home screen to remove the possibility of wandering into a non-subscription area. This fix was never offered or pursued. Instead, I was offered the option of signing up for additional services.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Thomson Reuters
    Lexis Practice Advisor is an excellent alternative - but Practical Law has more comprehensive coverage of topics and practice areas - as well as more frequent updates to tools and checklists. Also, Practice Law integrates well with WestLaw which is great for having all the legal research and files centralized.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Thomson Reuters
    Like I said earlier, I previously used Lexis as the legal research tool. I did like Lexis because it was very easy to navigate, and you were able to utilize their Shepherds tool for case citations. However, I felt that their bank or library of cases, legal standards or precedents, and providing the user with the quality of case law needed was subpar. [Thomson Reuters] Westlaw far exceeds [its] competitors when it comes to the necessary elements needed for legal practice/research.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Thomson Reuters
    • Cost savings related to proactive training is easily in the hundreds of thousands.
    • Having various types of content available in one platform makes research efficient.
    • I have used Practical Law to search for judgments and lessons learned from my training sessions for our leadership.
    Read full review
    Thomson Reuters
    • Accident report does not have auto insurance information, but [Thomson Reuters] Westlaw was able to locate information needed to make sure a client's injuries were taken care of
    • Case Citations in response to defendants' motions in trial citing decisions that are against our clients
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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