UK Lis-Law subscribers had been asking some questions about how PLC shaped up compared to other services
such as Lexis.. maybe they shouldn’t have when you see how much they can tell us without drawing breath !
Here we go
From PLC:
We note with interest the recent correspondence comparing PLC online services with Lexis Library. We?re pleased to hear the general
feedback is that PLC provides a far more in-depth offering, more suited to the needs of the practitioner.
We would however like to take this opportunity to clarify a few of the points raised within the feedback (described in my summary of response
on 9 Aug)
Legislation
Although PLC does not produce legislation, we do offer subscribers the chance to access consolidated UK legislation from the official source
without leaving our site. Users can search the entire Legislation.gov.uk database from www.practicallaw.com/uklegislation/legislation, view legislation and
see related PLC commentary. They can use the time travel tool to see where a piece of legislation stood or will stand at a specific point
in time.
Users can also link directly from any reference to legislation in our resources to the text of the legislation itself. Those with access to
Westlaw UK can choose link to legislation on Westlaw?s site. We feel this ‘best of breed’ solution gives our subscribers more choice as to
how they access quality legislation.
PLC has been working with the National Archives for the last year to consolidate all legislation available through Legislation.gov.uk. We
have prioritised legislation we know to be of most interest to PLC users. Key pieces such as the Companies Act 2006 and the Bribery Act
2010 are already available online in fully consolidated format. We expect all key pieces of legislation will be fully-consolidated by the
end of the year.
Cases
PLC links through to transcripts of any cases we refer to if they are available freely through BAILII (www.bailii.org).
We synthesise judgements from case law and legislation into our resources. We cover more than 90% of all cases in our materials such
as our e-mail updates, case trackers and practice notes, saving users from having to wade through an expensive and cumbersome library of
primary sources. In 2011, we covered more than 1500 cases for example.
Documents
More than 2,800 up-to-date standard documents, clauses and drafting notes are available through our website. Subscribers can download
these in Microsoft Word. They may also choose to download them in their organisation?s house style with our FirmStyle tool.
More than 150 of our most popular documents are available through FastDraft ? our automated drafting tool. FastDraft allows you to
create an advanced first draft in a fraction of the time by using shortcuts such as importing data from your existing projects, your
contacts or from Company?s House. It also allows you to create ancillary documents instantly. FastDraft is free as part of a PLC
subscription.
Court forms
PLC provides access to a large number of Court Forms, in PDF and Word format. Users can access Court Forms through PLC Dispute Resolution
(www.dispute.practicallaw.com/9-205-6415), Companies House forms through PLC Corporate (www.corporate.practicallaw.com/9-388-0646) and
Land Registry Forms through PLC Property (www.practicallaw.com/8-505-8421).
CPD
Subscribers may gain 12 CPD hours annually from their desktop through our CPD Update Programme for corporate and commercial lawyers. This
is available as part of any subscription to PLC Corporate or PLC Commercial at no extra cost. We also offer CPD webinars and podcasts
across a range of practice areas (www.practicallaw.com/about/webinarhome or www.practicallaw.com/about/podcasthome). All included within a PLC
subscription.
Books
Users can search and access more than 150 legal books from publisher Bloomsbury Professional through our website. Our books online service
offers authoritative legal books with a simple user interface. Users can search books from the PLC UK homepage or link from PLC resources
to the relevant book commentary. They can browse all books through www.practicallaw.com/about/booksonline and use our interactive
contents list to jump straight to the section they need.
Titles range from overviews and ?how to? guides for generalists to specialist commentary on complex issues. All subscribers can now
access all titles for free as part of an extended trial.
Evolving the service ? Ask PLC
Our UK team of more than 170 former practising lawyers (the largest outside private practice) create and continually maintain our
materials, including practice notes, standard documents, legal updates and deal analysis through What?s Market.
They are also available to answer queries through our Ask PLC service. We receive thousands of questions each month from lawyers and PSLs in
the largest magic circle and international law firms, as well as sole practitioners, public sector organisations and from across our
subscriber base of 3,000 in-house legal departments. Our team point users to other useful resources and act as a sounding board on tricky
matters. This interaction with our subscribers ensures our resources remain relevant and fit for purpose.
Because we publish questions and answers on our site, Ask PLC also allows users to tap into a community of their peers ? to see what
others are asking and join the discussion.
