lexis vs westlaw - the student wars (USA)

Written by Sean Hocking

We can't help but reprint this fantastic post by Mademoiselle De Rigueur who subtitles her blog... Soliloquy Of An Errant Mademoiselle From The Backwoods Of New York Who Moved To Los Angeles To Study Law.... It's a lesson in how much reps from each company are just selling automatons...don't believe the hype as public enemy once said 27.2.08 Lexis and Westlaw I dropped by X lab today to print some articles for my research project. I was actually kind of excited because my research had been approved by my advisor and lets face it, it takes alot to rev up excitement about actual legal research-especially when you know you are going to need a 2 inch binder just to store it. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by Rep, who sweetly asked me if I needed, help. When I responded that I could I handle it on my own but thank you, they were unfazed and asked me if I wanted points. Points? Sorry but the thought wasn't thrilling. Usually, you need about a gazillion points to get some random crap off the lexis or westlaw website and honestly, the effort is not worth the prize. I shrugged it off and moved on. But HeadRep would not let up and kept talking about points. And would frequently come over to mess with my search settings only to further embarrass themselves when the computer kept glitching and they couldn't get it to work. Later, I heard them talking over the phone with someone from their company about their competitiveness level compared to the other research system on campus. Apparently, the Lexis-Westlaw war for the hearts of every student is full on. Blah if you ask me. Anyway, by this point, I was feeling rather warm towards Rep. I thought they was rather nice and friendly. I was even feeling kind of sorry for Rep as I imagined they probably had to meet some sales quota or something. Big stressor if you ask me. Then some writing assistants came in, and Rep repeated the smiley do you want some points process. This time, the assistants responded enthusiastically, much to Rep's joy, who wasn't too thrilled with me at that point. I finished up my printing and was set to thank Rep before I left, when all of a sudden Rep walked out of the printing room, and coldly looked me in the eye and said, "I think you are done here." Whoa. Talk about a mood change. I guess Rep figured I was a waste of time. And they were right.

 

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