Cost of Westlaw

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Cost of Westlaw

• (Cost of Lexis is comparable)

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Ask _at_ sign-on (if you dont see this screen, the
firm has already decided for you)
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Westlaw Transactional Charges per Search

• State Cases 61
• Codes (USCA OCGA) 73
• ALRs Journals 120
• ALLCASES - All Federal State Cases 194
• Briefs 192

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Westlaw Per MINUTE Charges under Hourly pricing
method (All the searches you can run in 1
minute)

• State Cases 8.95
• Codes (USCA OCGA) 10.50
• ALRs Journals 21 - 18
• ALLCASES - All Federal State Cases 20.98
• Briefs 24

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Cost to the Client

• The most expensive databases (including briefs
  and people records) on Westlaw are charged at
  24.00 per MINUTE (under the Hourly pricing
  method)
• The average new associates time is billed out at
  about 175 - 250 per hour
• Most firms have a contract and databases within
  that contract receive special pricing, but
  coverage may not be as comprehensive as law school

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Some things to be aware of

• In Westlaw (not Lexis), as long as you are within
  your firms contract, there are no additional
  charges to print, email, or download. Just
  remember that whatever you do this year will set
  next years price for the contract, so a flat
  rate isnt really a flat rate.
• HOWEVER
• If you go outside of your firms contract, you
  will have to pay the standard Transactional or
  Hourly rates for those databases, PLUS charges to
  print and download documents range from 0.04 to
  0.65 per line or 5.00 to 50.00 per document.
• So if its just for your eyes, simply copy, paste
  and email to yourself or print locally. If it
  needs to look pretty for a client, then its
  appropriate to bill them for it.

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Approximate cost for research using the Hourly
pricing method(Examples of Searching for
Supreme Court briefs, which are classified as
one of the Select databases)

• 15 Minutes spent
• 24 x 15 min 360
• 15 min at 200/hr50
• Grand Total 410

• 30 Minutes spent
• 24 x 30 min 720
• 30 min at 200/hr100
• Grand Total 820

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Approximate cost for research using
the Transactional pricing method(Example of a
Search for Supreme Court briefs, which are
classified as one of the Select databases)
15 Minutes spent 192 per transaction
(unlimited locates w/in initial search per
transaction until 2am) 192 15 min at
200/hr50 Grand Total 242
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Search vs. Find

• Find charges
• Generally cost LESS
• Primary Source 10 per document
• Secondary Source 20 per document
• Briefs Trial Docs 65 per document
• If youre out of firm contract, use FIND

• Search charges
• Generally cost MORE
• Search connect time and communications charges
  are now incorporated into per minute costs,
  transactional searches dont carry these charges

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Comparison of cost to obtain briefs using Search
vs. Find

• Searching the briefs database for 15 minutes to
  find a single case
• 24 x 15 360 25 per print OR 65 per PDF
  image
• Grand Total 385 / 425

• Using Find by entering a citation from a known
  Supreme Court case
• 10 per case 65 per link to brief 25 per
  print OR 65 per PDF page image
• Grand Total 100 / 140

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Obtaining briefs on the Internet

• Free other than your billed time
• Supreme Court briefs are available on the
  Internet
• Current previous term merits briefs on ABA
  website (linked from Supreme Court site)
• Supreme Court briefs on Findlaw

• Solicitor General briefs on DOJ website
• Interest organization websites for amicus briefs
  use Google or find links from http//www.legaline.
  com/freebriefslinks.html
• Briefs in significant historical cases on the
  Yale Curiae Project site

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Additional charges for Downloading and Printing

• Cost is up to 65 per document
• Briefs databases 25 per document
• Majority of databases (including cases)
• 12.50 per document

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Additional charges for PDF images

• Briefs PDF docs 65 per image
• Reporter PDF docs 20 per image

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Legal research on the Internet

• Free to find print
• Many primary materials available cases,
  statutes, regulations, treaties, briefs
• Increasingly legal research websites have better
  search capability

• Google will let you search for documents by name
• Government Law Library websites can be reliable
  research sources
• Find reliable links from the Emory Internet Legal
  Research Guide