DLA Piper Takes Bloomberg In All 25 USA Offices
Oh dear for Lexis & Westlaw we presume this is not the sort of news they want to be hearing at the moment....
Bloomberg Law Snags DLA Piper's US Business
3 Geeks and a law blog are reporting that Bloomberg have inked a deal with DLA Piper so that all 25 USA offices of the firm now have desktop Bloomberg. We doubt this means they have dumped the other two - but we imagine the prospect of a client cutting back on Lexis & Westlaw must put the willy’s up the respective management teams at Lexis and Westlaw
http://www.geeklawblog.com/2012/02/bloomberg-law-snags-dla-pipers-us.html
Here;s what 3 Geeks and a law blog say
I just received an announcement from Bloomberg Law that they have just inked a deal with the 25 US offices of DLA Piper to bring Bloomberg Law to the desktop all of the 1,400 attorneys in those offices. This is by far the biggest coup that Bloomberg has had to date within the Big US Law Firms. It is actually exciting news to hear, and should cause a few wrinkles in the business of legal publishing.
Right off the top of my head I have a few questions that pop out on this deal.
Who lost DLA Piper's US business?? (I'd find it very hard to believe that a firm, even of DLA Piper's size, would want to carry Westlaw, Lexis AND Bloomberg on their annual budgets.)
If DLA Piper did dump one of the other vendors, what resources does DLA Piper lose in the change? Does making a deal like this for the US office affect future deals with legal vendors outside the US?
Did the deal with BNA come into play on the negotiations of a US office-wide agreement?
How are attorneys going to adjust to the new platform? I know DLA Piper has had Bloomberg in a more limited access role for a while now (in fact they were one of the first, if not the first firms to jump on the Bloomberg trial when it rolled out.)
This announcement will make a number of firms stand up and take note. There is a lot of talk about BigLaw firms going with a single-vendor, or at least a primary vendor with another smaller deal with the other. It's apparent that the folks at Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis are taking notes as well, and attempting to set up barriers to going down this route (such as no longer offering pay-go or credit card access for one-off research requests.) With a legitimate third party in play, it may shake up the game a bit and make for some interesting times ahead for both the law firms and the legal publishers.
I'm hoping to learn the answers to the questions above. As I do, I'll do some follow-up posts with what I learn. I applaud DLA Piper for testing the waters on this idea, and look forward to seeing if other firms follow suit. Things just got interesting!
Here's the press release I received:
BLOOMBERG LAW ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH DLA PIPER FOR LEGAL RESEARCH
Bloomberg Law to Provide DLA Piper’s US Lawyers with Legal Research and Business Information Platform
New York - Bloomberg Law, the legal research system from the world leader in data and information services, today announced an agreement with DLA Piper, the world’s largest global business law firm, to provide high quality, cost-effective legal research for all its lawyers throughout the United States. Bloomberg Law's integration of legal research with the Bloomberg industry and financial information relied upon by corporations and investment institutions throughout the world, provides lawyers with a competitive edge in understanding their clients' businesses.
With DLA Piper's enterprise-wide adoption of Bloomberg Law, the firm's 1,400 US lawyers practicing in 25 cities will have unlimited access to Bloomberg Law from their desktops. Bloomberg Law’s legal research system integrates comprehensive legal content, company and financial information, and news all in one place, including Bloomberg's world-class proprietary news, company and market information. Bloomberg Law's all-inclusive, transparent and predictable pricing means that every user has the same unrestricted access to the content in the Bloomberg Law databases.
"We are deeply gratified that a firm of DLA Piper's caliber has chosen Bloomberg Law for its lawyers throughout the United States," said Bloomberg Law Chairman Lou Andreozzi. "We look forward to working closely with DLA Piper as we continue to develop the resources to help law firms better manage their research and costs so they can concentrate on adding value to their clients."
Don Jaycox, DLA Piper’s Chief Information Officer, said, "Law firms need to cost effectively deliver great client service in a highly competitive environment. In addition to being experts in law, our clients have made it clear that they also want us to understand the business challenges they face on a daily basis. Bloomberg Law's unique combination of legal research, company information, and news helps our lawyers stay abreast of a wide array of information affecting our clients. Plus, Bloomberg’s inclusive pricing model helps us manage..........
