If you weren’t convinced that the watchword of the last few years in legal technology is “consolidation,” yesterday’s announcement from LexisNexis should bring you around. Lex Machina, the hot legal analytics tool that allows lawyers to, among other things, easily access judge and opposing counsel data and identify trends, was acquired by LexisNexis two years ago and now we see more fruit of that union.
Earlier this year, LexisNexis integrated Lex Machina’s judge and law firm data into Lexis Advance, its flagship research tool. Today, the company announced the integration of Lex Machina’s attorney analytics into the platform.
With this integration, users can select active links on attorney names in full-text Lexis Advance case law and seamlessly access Lex Machina summary charts on attorney case filing history and other important information across a broad range of practice areas, including Patent, Copyright, Trademark, Antitrust, Securities, Employment, Commercial, Product Liability and Federal Bankruptcy Appeals cases. Lexis Advance users with a subscription to Lex Machina can drill further into a wealth of analytics to uncover vital intelligence for making critical litigation decisions.
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How useful are attorney analytics? Honestly I’ve always harbored mixed feelings about the ability to get actionable data from win-loss records for the reasons Bob Ambrogi outlined in this article — it just strikes me that a lot of the data points one can gather about an attorney can be misleading. Still, as long as the user walks into it aware of the limitations, there is knowledge to be gained by looking at a lawyer’s past work.
But the specifics of this integration aren’t as important as the fact of this integration. Once more, the industry reveals its focus on user workflow. Assuming lawyers lack both the time and desire to open and close a number of stand-alone applications, the killer app for any tech solution provider is integration. Give users everything they could possibly need to perform their job under one metaphorical roof.
The ultimate question for the market is whether lawyers are Apple people or PC people? Do they crave one platform that provides every service with ease and style or do they crave customizable solutions combining the a la carte products they want to make the system that suits them best. It appears as though the Apple mentality is ascendant. But don’t count out firms trying to build themselves bespoke mousetraps.
So, like the old ad campaign, are you a Mac or a PC?
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Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.