I use Lexis everyday and I would be dead without it. Seriously, if it were gone I would cry like a little girl, and I can appreciate the agony of those who know of its usefulness but can't get it for whatever reason.
Still, the fact remains that every single state's code is online for free from a number of sources, as are the federal code and regulations are also freely available online, again searchable. The author herself admits that case law databases are available online for recent decisions, and while my experience has revealed that this isn't yet universal, it's getting there. For older stuff, the author correctly notes that there are hundreds if not thousands of libraries open and free to the public that have all of this stuff, whether it be at your county courthouse, in the nearest big city's country courthouse, or at the absolute worst, your state capital. In short, there is nothing online you can't get in a library.
The author's point is that without Lexis or Westlaw, it's impossible to have all of this stuff linked and cross-referenced and at your fingertips at once, which in turn makes it really hard to get into the meat of a complicated legal battle without the aid of a lawyer. So what?
As a primary matter, not even lawyers had this ability until about ten years ago, and they seemed to find the law just fine using the same sources available to the public. Indeed, almost all of the lawyers over the age of 40 I work with still use the books for the majority of their research. The law is just as good if you find it there than if you find it online.
But more important is the point the author makes herself when she says that "[t]he legal field is more maze than field" and that, overall it's confusing. Well, she's right, but it has nothing to do with some alleged blocked-access to information. The law is a tough business. Though Nolo Press and companies like it are trying to simplify and democratize simple things like basic corporation formation, estate planning, and family law, the fact remains that anything beyond a cursory foray into these areas is difficult business that no one should be doing without some modicum of legal advice. Think of it like you'd think of health care: it's fine and dandy to perform first aid, eat right, and treat minor ailments without seeing a doctor, but you certainly wouldn't want to perform surgery on yourself. The stuff you *can't* do because Lexis isn't free and universal are the things you shouldn't be doing on your own in the first place. Free access to Lexis or Westlaw is not going to change that, and there is NO substitute for the help of a lawyer once you move beyond the basic.
While I would love to see Lexis and Westlaw freely available to everyone, I don't think it's anything more than an annoyance that it isn't. It certainly doesn't represent a closing off of access that was once freely available, because there is more available now than there ever was before, and all of the old methods are still available too. The real value of Lexis and Westlaw is not the information, but the way it is linked and searchable. For this, these companies put in enormous amounts of work, and they deserve to make money for their undertaking.
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I use Lexis everyday and I would be dead without it. Seriously, if it were gone I would cry like a little girl, and I can appreciate the agony of those who know of its usefulness but can't get it for whatever reason. Still, the fact remains that every single state's code is online for free from a number of sources, as are the federal code and regulations are also freely available online, again searchable. The author herself admits that case law databases are available online for recent decisions, and while my experience has revealed that this isn't yet universal, it's getting there. For older stuff, the author correctly notes that there are hundreds if not thousands of libraries open and free to the public that have all of this stuff, whether it be at your county courthouse, in the nearest big city's country courthouse, or at the absolute worst, your state capital. In short, there is nothing online you can't get in a library. The author's point is that without Lexis or Westlaw, it's impossible to have all of this stuff linked and cross-referenced and at your fingertips at once, which in turn makes it really hard to get into the meat of a complicated legal battle without the aid of a lawyer. So what? As a primary matter, not even lawyers had this ability until about ten years ago, and they seemed to find the law just fine using the same sources available to the public. Indeed, almost all of the lawyers over the age of 40 I work with still use the books for the majority of their research. The law is just as good if you find it there than if you find it online. But more important is the point the author makes herself when she says that "[t]he legal field is more maze than field" and that, overall it's confusing. Well, she's right, but it has nothing to do with some alleged blocked-access to information. The law is a tough business. Though Nolo Press and companies like it are trying to simplify and democratize simple things like basic corporation formation, estate planning, and family law, the fact remains that anything beyond a cursory foray into these areas is difficult business that no one should be doing without some modicum of legal advice. Think of it like you'd think of health care: it's fine and dandy to perform first aid, eat right, and treat minor ailments without seeing a doctor, but you certainly wouldn't want to perform surgery on yourself. The stuff you *can't* do because Lexis isn't free and universal are the things you shouldn't be doing on your own in the first place. Free access to Lexis or Westlaw is not going to change that, and there is NO substitute for the help of a lawyer once you move beyond the basic. While I would love to see Lexis and Westlaw freely available to everyone, I don't think it's anything more than an annoyance that it isn't. It certainly doesn't represent a closing off of access that was once freely available, because there is more available now than there ever was before, and all of the old methods are still available too. The real value of Lexis and Westlaw is not the information, but the way it is linked and searchable. For this, these companies put in enormous amounts of work, and they deserve to make money for their undertaking.