All Westlaw Edge Reviews
1-21 of 21 Reviews
Sort by
Alec Anton
Verified reviewer
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
4
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed March 2022
An essential service for legal professionals.
I trialed Westlaw and Lexis Nexis each for two weeks when I was setting up my law firm. I didn't have much experience with either and to be honest one of the above is better than none. I found Westlaw to offer a really simple and powerful research tool, all it takes is a few well thought out keywords and you have access to everything at your fingertips - legislation, cases, practice notes, resources etc. I have become so used to this service I would hate to think how I'd cope without it.
PROSAccess to "New Westlaw" is fantastic and feels like a special "Google" for lawyers.
CONSI find the searching parameters are a little over the top. Sometimes it's hard to narrow down what you are looking for with so many results.
Reason for choosing Westlaw Edge
Price and user interface.
Nicholas
Law Practice, 1 employee
Used daily for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
1
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Great Search, High Price
My research with Westlaw Edge is lightning fast, and I am confident I am not missing any authorities. I don't know what else one wants from a legal research platform, except maybe not to be the one paying the bill.
PROSYou get Westlaw because it has the best search algorithm in the legal research industry. That and you are trained to use KeyCite to find ALL of the cases on a particular issue. In short, it saves you time and gives you confidence that you have covered your bases.
CONSIt is too expensive for a solo practice.
Reason for choosing Westlaw Edge
For the reasons cited, speed, classic powerful features, coverage.
Greg
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
3
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
2
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2020
Good product. Too expensive for my needs compared to other products.
The product was very good and easy to use. I have no complaints in that department. But honestly, without meaning to offend Westlaw, they are not the 800 pound gorilla anymore. For my purposes they really have been replaced by much cheaper options that, for my purposes, work very efficiently. In fact I think what I'm using now is superior to Westlaw Edge and Westlaw Next at a fraction of the cost. I know it would be hard for them to revise their sales tactics as they worked for so long but us consumers have better options now. The HUGE fees for out of program searches were beyond absurd. The product I use now let's me use all jurisdictions and actually has an equal if not better search engine. Switching from Westlaw Edge was a no brainer for my firm.
PROSVery easy to use and has a good search engine.
CONSThe cost was excessive. For a small firm Westlaw Edge was just not a good value compared to newer products on the market of equal quality. The built in price increases outstripped inflation and were not something that I could tolerate. The sales persons were continually changing and seemed to have a "my way or the highway" attitude. I chose the highway and I'm thrilled that I did as I was over West's sales and marketing tactics.
Reason for choosing Westlaw Edge
I liked it better and they had a better warning if you were to go out of program for a search.
Reasons for switching to Westlaw Edge
I felt Westlaw suited my needs better.
John
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Great research, but far too expensive.
I found the product to perform as advertised but with a cost that was not justified. While happy with the product, I currently pay one-sixth the cost to a competitor (who also happens to provide a superior product).
PROSThe software works great in that it's easy to ensure you have completed comprehensive and exhaustive legal research on any given issue.
CONSThe problem with Westlaw Edge is that it's prohibitively expensive for all but corporate law firms that can bill their clients for large expenses on a regular basis. For a practitioner that represents individuals, as opposed to business entities, there are many alternate choices that provide the same or better product for much less.
Reason for choosing Westlaw Edge
I chose based purely upon Westlaw's reputation as a better provider of legal research.
Daniel
Verified reviewer
Legal Services, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed October 2020
Westlaw Edge. be sure to do your research before signing a contract
positive operational experience but for the cost.
PROSWestlaw has always been a leader in legal research. This program, like others, is moving to artificial intelligence. the predictive type of research which will help identify the issues. it can help identify the issues but it is really a gatherer of materials that experienced attorneys have already identified. At times it can be overwhelming and too broad that it doesn't help because you have to whittle it down. I am generalizing because the program isn't that different from Lexis. both are improving the programs, each has the standard browser search engine. Westlaw does have something that is a huge asset. It has a wealth of library resources at its disposal so for the larger firms that have a large assortment of case types, it is superior. For the working blue collar attorney with a niche, the program is overkill. I love Westlaw, but sometimes bells and whistles make too much noise.
CONSIt costs too much to subscribe to and the add-on resources can surprise you at the end of the month. you are paying for a tool that is used to direct you to other products. Overhead is too critical to the smaller firm that this program prices itself out of range. it is a superior program, it is easy to use, it is informative and opens the deep door to their other resources but it cost too much for a firm with 5 or fewer attorneys.
Ryan
Law Practice, 51-200 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed April 2021
Essential for legal research
This is the best legal research platform by far -- it has search and organization functionality for those who need it, but doesn't bog the platform down with unnecessary fluff. The text is always front and center.
CONSSometimes the software struggles to maintain multiple tabs correctly.
Anonymous
51-200 employees
Used daily for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2021
Hard to beat Westlaw in any form
Overall it remains a top tool for legal research even if facing competition from some alternative sources.
PROSWestlaw continues to innovate to improve research. This is important for those who are able to find free alternatives such as google scholar. However, access to gated sources, depending on the subscription, remains a compelling reason to maintain a traditional legal research tool such as Westlaw.
CONSThis remains probably the best legal research tool in the business but the ability to check if a source has been overturned is a bit better with other tools and it can become pricey.
Zoe
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed December 2022
Westlaw Edge Review
I like how easy it is to narrow down legal research to find exactly what you are looking for.
CONSSometimes the features are too overwhelming and it can be difficult to find exactly what you want.
Anonymous
51-200 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed April 2021
Great Legal Research Program
I frequently need to conduct legal research as part of my job, and Westlaw Edge really helps make that easier. I am very satisfied with the way it works.
PROSThis is a very user friendly software that enables me to easily research legal issues for my job. It is a lot more intuitive and straightforward than the original Westlaw site, and even more so than "Westlaw Next" (which I believe is now called Westlaw Classic). There is a notification for each case whether there is any negative treatment, and clicking the flag will link to all cases mentioning the current case, with an analysis of how in-depth the current case was discussed.
CONSThere are so many features in it that I'm sure I'm not using it to the fullest potential. There is definitely training needed to be able to take full advantage of this software.
Steven
Legal Services, 51-200 employees
Used daily for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed September 2022
Westlaw Edge is excellent!
Expert search finds critical information about adverse experts
CONSI really don’t have any negative feedback
Anonymous
2-10 employees
Used more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
VALUE FOR MONEY
2
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Too expensive and too many features for we do not use.
It was okay but eventually proved to be too expensive for what we needed.
PROSWestlaw is a go-to in the legal industry and had a large number of features that were super helpful when I used them. Typically though, I just used the case law portion of our subscription and did not need these extra features.
CONSUser interface is complicated and I was frequently told that the basic research I was conducting required additional subscriptions.
Jessica
Legal Services, 11-50 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed December 2021
Great Product for Work Use
This is the product I was taught while attending paralegal school. Not much has changes which makes it easy to follow along and do research.
CONSWhile doing the people search sometimes, I have issues locating a person when I know the address/name/DOB are all correct.
Delaney
Legal Services, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2022
Complex and Detailed
Westlaw is great for research-heavy jobs and schooling, but not as great for searching for general information or less in-depth topics.
PROSWestlaw offers a great range of filters for search and research, and they have a folder system that is useful for big projects. It is easy to stay organized, and good history tracking to go back to various previous tabs.
CONSThis is difficult to learn, and can be extremely confusing to those used to Lexis or MyCase. You have to use different search terms, different layouts of collections/journals, and there is not a reward system in the use which is sad.
Ed
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
2
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed November 2021
Westlaw User
The program addresses all legal research needs, and the costumer support is excellent.
PROSTop notch research tool and excellent customer support.
CONSLearning how to use all the available features is challenging, and the software is very expensive.
Brian
Legal Services, 2-10 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed May 2022
Best Legal Research Database
Westlaw Edge is intuitive to use and has a ton of resources in addition to cases
CONSThe term search within cases after searching keywords does not seem to change the search results
Shelby
Legal Services, 501-1,000 employees
Used weekly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2022
My Go-To for Legal Research
The KeyCite is a life saver, but the best thing about Westlaw is how user friendly it is.
CONSI don't have anything negative to say about this software.
Jason
Legal Services, 2-10 employees
Used monthly for more than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
4
VALUE FOR MONEY
2
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
4
FUNCTIONALITY
4
Reviewed November 2020
Too Expensive, so I Switched
Westlaw is a great product, but it is expensive. Today there are so many alternatives that are much more affordable alternative, that do not require a long term contract. Some of the alternatives do not have as many features as Westlaw, but if you don't need all those, like our firm, then the alternatives will be better solution.
PROSWestlaw Edge is easy to use, if you know how to use any other legal research software you should be able to figure it out.
CONSCost- Westlaw is expensive, especially if you need something outside of your plan. To my knowledge all plans require at least a year long contract.
Dale
Law Practice, 51-200 employees
Used weekly for less than 12 months
OVERALL RATING:
4
EASE OF USE
3
FUNCTIONALITY
3
Reviewed November 2020
Secondary sources and other research
Westlaw provides jury verdicts, case valuation, and an expert database that are helpful.
CONSAfter a decade of using Westlaw on and off, I still feel the navigation through various sources is not intuitive. I also feel the headnotes aren't always helpful.
AJ
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
5
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
3
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Easy to use, Easier to find case
I enjoy using Westlaw Edge because you can literally type sentences in and it will find what you need.
CONSIt's a little expensive. It also finds more cases than I think is necessary.
Anonymous
11-50 employees
Used weekly for less than 6 months
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed January 2020
Research made simple
Westlaw Edge is user friendly and easy to navigate. I feel like I always immediately find what I am looking for and am put on notice when there may be issues with a case cite.
PROSWestlaw Edge is user friendly and easy to navigate. I feel like I always immediately find what I am looking for and am put on notice when there may be issues with a case cite.
CONSNothing. Westlaw Edge is easy to use and makes my research needs simple. The case notes are also super helpful.
Lee
Law Practice, 2-10 employees
Used monthly for less than 2 years
OVERALL RATING:
5
EASE OF USE
5
VALUE FOR MONEY
3
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
5
FUNCTIONALITY
5
Reviewed October 2020
Too expensive for a small law practice
Good but expensive.
PROSKey cite was very helpful. Also, like the Shepard’s feature.
CONSThe length of the contract required and the cost.