What Is Happening With WestlawNext Pricing In The US

As we know from an earlier report, the Westlaw roadshow refuses to discusss pricing in any form? in a public forum and now we see this? scary post on Legal Research & Writing Pro Blog where the sales dept of Wetlaw are slowly sending one of their clients bananas. As his post title indicates.. “Westlaw Reps Don?t Know their A$$es From their Elbows When it Comes to WestlawNext Packages and Pricing”


Here’s the author’s intro and we’ve included a few choice sections from his precis post. We suggest all Westlaw subscribers pay very close attention to what’s been written here.

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Westlaw Reps Don?t Know their A$$es From their Elbows When it Comes to WestlawNext Packages and Pricing
March 18th, 2010


Although I haven?t posted about my WestlawNext upgrade negotiations in a few weeks, things have been going on behind the scenes. Or, perhaps more accurately, they haven?t.

The Background

Before you read further, if you?re not familiar with my previous posts about WestlawNext pricing?My WestlawNext Upgrade Negotiations: Proof that West Isn?t Interested in the Solo Market and WestlawNext Pricing Information and Reaction from Firm Law Librarians?I encourage you to read them now. In case you don?t have time, here?s the abridged version:

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After some back-and-forth discussion with my sales rep, I moved up the Thomson Reuters food chain to my sales rep?s manager. On February 11, the sales manager discovered that my rep had ?failed to mention? that the pricing in the preceding chart was ?introductory pricing? that was valid only until February 28th. He also asked me to keep the negotiations confidential. On February 13, I asked the sales manager what the prices would be as of March 1. On February 22, the sales manager told me that the post-February 28 prices for all of the WestlawNext plan components included in the second chart above had not yet been released.

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As I explained to the sales manager:

There are a number of discrepancies between the content included in the three Proposals included in [my rep’s] February 8 e-mail to me and the content included in [his] March 5 e-mail to me . . . .

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. . . [B]ased on my conversations and correspondence with [my rep], it was my understanding that WestlawNext would not include either Results Plus or Law Reviews & Journals as separately available plans. Please clarify whether: (1) West has changed its mind, and has decided to offer Results Plus and Law Reviews & Journals in WestlawNext; or (2) [my rep] mistakenly included these items in Package [3b] in his March 5 e-mail.

Third, the disparity in prices between Packages [1] and [2] ([in the] March 5) e-mail doesn?t make sense. [My rep] previously explained to me that National Secondary Sources?Premium includes more content than the All Analytical Library. That is backed up by the fact that, in his February 8 proposals, All Analytical was priced at $209.55 while National Secondary Sources?Premium was priced at $419.65. Yet, in the current crop of ?Packages,? the package that includes National Secondary Sources?Premium (Package #[2]) is more expensive than the one that includes All Analytical (Package #[1]) (the two packages are otherwise identical).

Finally, as mentioned in my previous e-mail, are the ?package? prices quoted in Elwyn?s March 5 e-mail the prices before application of the 45% 3-year contract discount or after application of that discount?

Here?s the sales manager?s response:

You are correct that there were some discrepancies in pricing and content in the multiple communications we?ve had. I apologize for these discrepancies, which were errors on our part. I?m sorry for the confusion.

And there’s a lot more like this? at?? http://legalresearchandwritingpro.com/blog/2010/03/18/westlaw-reps-dont-know-their-asses-from-their-elbows-when-it-comes-to-westlawnext-packages-and-pricing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LegalResearchWritingProBlog+(Legal+Research+%26+Writing+Pro+Blog)