Lawyers Don’t Like New Technology, Except When They Do!
In the legal world, there’s a common refrain that lawyers don’t like technology. But that’s not true. During the early part of my career, I witnessed how lawyers changed the way they researched, moving from using books to researching online. While this change happened many years ago, it was incredibly significant. So significant, we should still analyze the strategies used to make that change happen and apply what we learn to products being developed today.
In the following post, I will set the scene for this change. Then, I will explain the observable strategies used by the West Group[1] that made this change possible. Finally, I will enumerate the key takeaways still applicable to those developing in the legal industry today.
Setting the Scene: Lawyers Really Love Books
Way back when I was in law school, the legal profession was at a crossroads. Legal research was mainly still tethered to the archaic realm of hardbound volumes, dedicated research terminals, and compact discs. That is, until the launch of the West Group’s westlaw.com website in 1998, allowing users to access and search its databases online. For years after this launch, however, more senior attorneys often still advised new associates (like me) to head to the library instead of going online. These senior attorneys viewed online research as expensive, inherently untrustworthy, and not as intuitive (to them) as picking up a book and flipping through headnotes (short summaries of key legal principles).
Fast forward to today, and the legal research landscape has transformed beyond recognition. Gone are the days when a legal researcher could rely solely on physical books to navigate the intricate web of case law, statutes, and secondary content. And, among the myriad of legal research tools that have emerged, Westlaw stands out as a market leader (cue arguments from Lexis devotees). It’s a prime example of how a legal technology product can revolutionize an entire industry or way of doing something. Westlaw (and yes Lexis too) has not only changed the way lawyers perform legal research but has also shifted the paradigm of what it means to be a competent attorney in today’s digital age.
But how did that change happen? And are there any lessons learned from that time still applicable today? To answer those questions, I thought back to the late 90s, early 2000s (when I started practicing), and also asked folks on Twitter/X their thoughts about how Westlaw hooked them into a different way of researching. Thank you to all who responded both publicly and privately to my question!
1. Westlaw solved an actual problem.
An old product management adage is don’t be a solution looking for a problem to solve. You need to instead solve a real problem in a way that is a meaningful improvement to how people are currently solving that problem. Finding cases on point by using books is hard. Even if they are topically organized, you need to read through a whole bunch of irrelevant cases until you find the few gems that matter. Thus, being able to search and find what you need more quickly, and reducing the amount of unnecessary reading, is a vast improvement.
Westlaw’s transformative impact on legal research can be first understood as a product that tackled an actual problem — finding relevant case law. Westlaw revolutionized legal research by making it easier to search for and find on-point cases, cutting down the time to research a legal issue.
This innovation not only made legal research more accessible, but more efficient and more comprehensive. There were certainly concerns that if you didn’t read everything, you might miss something important or that the search query might not be as robust as it needed to be. There were also concerns that if new lawyers didn’t learn how to research the traditional way, they may not be learning important research skills, but, as folks got more comfortable with how to search electronically, those concerns lessened. In time, attorneys began to realize that searching through cases electronically was far superior to continuing to research with books. And now, an attorney may even run afoul of the ethical duty of technical competence if they used no online research at all. It is just that much better.
2. Westlaw was easier to use than the alternatives.
Westlaw was not the only game in town, Lexis was also around. But without getting into an online debate about Westlaw v. Lexis, I preferred Westlaw because I simply found it easier and more intuitive to use. Others also mentioned (in response to my request for Westlaw positives during this time) ease of use as a positive for Westlaw specifically.
The easier a product is to use the more likely lawyers will be to use it. Westlaw was easier to use than book research, especially Shepardizing (determining whether a case is still good law) with books, and it was (in my opinion) easier to use than the main competitive product available at that time.
3. Westlaw provided free access to law students.
Westlaw’s strategy also heavily targeted law students. Recognizing the need to instill new research habits from the outset, Westlaw established a significant presence within law schools. Through dedicated student representatives, the platform was introduced to aspiring lawyers, providing them with access to its powerful research tools before they even knew why they needed it. This approach allowed students to become familiar with (and dependent on) Westlaw’s capabilities without financial constraints.
During their legal education, students honed their online research skills, including mastering the intricate “terms and connectors” search method, all at no cost to them. This early exposure fostered familiarity and comfort with Westlaw’s interface, making it a natural choice for research once they entered the professional world. Westlaw not only captured the attention of aspiring lawyers but also became an integral part of their educational journey.
Someone online likened this to a “free taste” of a drug to expressly get students hooked. I believe this free service even continued when students worked during the summer (but I can’t remember 100% or if this was intended) so they could experience what it would be like to use the product in a professional setting. When the attorneys then graduated, if their firm did not have their preferred research services, these new attorneys would ask for it. Eventually, it became common for firms, especially larger ones, to obtain licenses for multiple online research products for all their attorneys, whether they used it or not.
[A law librarian reached out to me and stated that this section is untrue and that the schools actually paid for these licenses from the beginning. I cannot verify this claim and I would not be aware of any contractual terms between the school and West. I am instead speaking above from the student’s perspective. From the student’s perspective, it was free to them. I did find a Lewis & Clark Law Review article that discussed on page 832, Section C that students were provided with free passwords as well as charging law schools a low law school price that is based on the number of students.]
4. Westlaw provided top-notch customer support and training.
In the early days of my legal practice, Westlaw’s exceptional commitment to supporting lawyers in their transition to digital research was remarkable. Law students were not only provided access to the product, but they were also provided training and that training became part of the legal research and writing curriculum. That training then continued post-graduation. I remember a Westlaw representative providing frequent (monthly?) in-person training sessions at my firm, addressing real-life research challenges and serving as invaluable guides to make the most of Westlaw’s capabilities. Sometimes they even brought donuts!
Beyond training, Westlaw offered free help for complex searches, letting lawyers turn to the representative for personalized help. They also provided reference attorney access by phone, akin to having a legal research tutor at the ready. The best part was that this assistance was all free!
Even though Westlaw was intuitive, it still required that lawyers learn a new skill — terms and connectors database searching. Westlaw seemed to understand that training lawyers to be good at this new skill would make their product stickier; lawyers would be less likely to abandon their product for books or turn to a competitor out of frustration if they could easily find what they needed or easily get help to do so. Thus, it invested significant resources into providing free help to lawyers as they got acclimated to this new way of researching.
5. Westlaw didn’t give attorneys a reason to leave.
Beyond making it easier to find cases, Westlaw also made it easy to determine whether a case was good law. Specifically, the KeyCite feature addressed the need for up-to-date legal information, letting lawyers track case history and validity, and eliminating the reliance on traditional sources like Shepards.
Westlaw also recognized attorneys’ love for and reliance on headnotes and the Key number topical organizational system which it carried through from books to its online product. I also vaguely remember the feature release when the Key numbers became searchable. So, if you found a Key number you liked, you could use it as part of your search query to find all the relevant cases. I remember thinking that was a real game-changer.
These product features showcased Westlaw’s deep understanding of user needs and preferences. By addressing concerns related to legal currency and structure, Westlaw not only preserved the essence of traditional legal research but also improved it in a digital format giving users little reason to go elsewhere.
6. Westlaw provided exclusive content not found elsewhere.
In the vast realm of legal research tools, Westlaw distinguished itself with exclusive content, accessible only through Westlaw or direct channels with publishers. While many legal research platforms provide extensive databases of cases, statutes, and regulations, Westlaw sets itself apart by curating and granting access to content that can’t be acquired elsewhere in the same integrated and searchable manner. This encompasses proprietary legal publications, treatises, expert commentary, and specialized databases catering to niche areas of law.
For attorneys, this exclusive content represents a valuable treasure trove of legal knowledge, offering insights, interpretations, and analyses that surpass what’s available in publicly accessible legal documents.
7. Westlaw provided swag and usage incentives.
Now, this one comes from responses to my Twitter/X post because I do not specifically remember any swag or incentives, but online responses claimed that they did. Apparently, Westlaw gave out freebies (like iPods???) if you used the product enough via their rewards program. I am sorry I missed this or perhaps this was after my time, but this was something that others credited for why they got hooked on Westlaw: they got FREE STUFF for using the product!!!
How might these strategies apply today?
So, now that we discussed seven strategies Westlaw employed to change attorney behavior, how might those strategies be employed today on new legal technology products? If you are creating a legal technology tool, maybe even one that uses generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), you may think that this product or its strategies for success have no applicability today, but you would be wrong. Westlaw (and Lexis) is/are one of the best examples we have of a product that was adopted en masse and fundamentally changed how lawyers worked. That change is still the default way that lawyers research all these years later.
The following, therefore, is how we might apply some of these strategies now to take advantage of these learnings.
1. Solve an Actual Problem: Those who follow me know that I am a big believer that GenAI has loads of potential and that I have advocated for research and experimentation for how it may unlock tasks hard to perform before. However, if you launch a product, it still must solve an actual problem and be better than the alternatives (or doing nothing at all). Just because we now have this shiny, new tool doesn’t mean we should go around searching for a problem to solve. It still must be the other way around. Westlaw succeeded because it solved a real problem that lawyers faced and did it well. This is still fundamental.
2. Make the product easy to use: Lawyers are busy people. They do not have time to learn the ins and outs of a complicated product. The easier the product is to use by an average person who is not particularly tech-savvy, the more attorneys and legal professionals will use that product.
3. Provide some amount of free access to law students, clerks, junior attorneys, or bar association members: If the product fits within a law school’s curriculum or may benefit students while they are still in school, provide them free access. Better yet, figure out a way to seamlessly weave it into more traditional legal studies as the new way of doing the task. This might not work for all products, but where it does, think about graduating a new class of students who are trained to perform a task in a better way and rely on them to teach, or at least spread the word to, more senior attorneys about this new way of doing that task. If the tool doesn’t apply to law students, think about working with bar associations or certain sections of a bar association instead.
4. Don’t overlook robust training and customer support: Westlaw’s support infrastructure, including on-site training and expert assistance, was pivotal to making this transition happen. Legal tech founders should invest in comprehensive support to aid users in adopting and maximizing their products. This could be by providing access to reps, but it may also involve quick tutorial videos or webinars. While support today might not look the same as it did then, it is still paramount to keeping users from turning to another product or reverting to their old ways out of frustration.
5. Keep them in your product: Westlaw incorporated features that reduced the need for attorneys to leave and go elsewhere. This made the product stickier. Product developers should iterate thoughtfully, addressing user concerns and preserving familiar workflows, but also evolve the product thoughtfully to address key reasons users might go elsewhere.
6. Give them something unique: Westlaw’s exclusive content and unique databases became a reason some attorneys chose Westlaw. Product developers should not try to become everything to every user, but having key, exclusive offerings or differentiators might create a loyal user base that is unlikely to stray.
7. Give out free stuff to reward certain behaviors: People like free stuff. To encourage certain behaviors, create a reward for that behavior. You may not want to develop a whole loyalty program but think about what lawyers want or need and figure out how that might also benefit you. Consider things like providing continuing legal education credit for attending training, creating training programs for firms to help them train their new associates, or providing gift cards for participating in demos or feedback sessions.
To sum it up, despite the common belief that lawyers don’t like technology, my experience tells me otherwise. I’ve witnessed lawyers fundamentally change the way they research over the early part of my career, going from primarily using books to almost exclusively researching online. This demonstrates that lawyers and legal professionals more generally can adapt to new things and use new technology if it is worth it to them. Looking back on how this shift happened and the strategies used to make it work, we can find useful ideas for today’s legal technology products and how to get lawyers to rely on them. And remember, just because it may have happened before your time, doesn’t make it irrelevant; history often has a way of repeating itself!
[1] I am focusing on Westlaw because I view it as a success story. This should not be read as a general endorsement of the product or that competitive products didn’t also employ similar strategies and enjoy similar success.
