Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a new research service for corporate and securities lawyers in law firms and legal departments (see article below), a device for creating your own private cloud storage, an iPhone automation app, and a proofreading add-on for Microsoft Office. Don't miss the next issue.
ONE-STOP-SHOPPING FOR BUSINESS LAW RESEARCH
When you negotiate and draft complex agreements such as mergers and acquisitions, prepare high-stakes securities filings, etc., there's no margin for error. Often, it's helpful to see how others have handled a certain issue. The problem is that conducting such research requires using a patchwork of government and private databases (with incomplete information) plus Google searches. Litigators have long enjoyed one-stop-shopping for legal research thanks to services such as WestlawNext. Corporate lawyers in law firms and legal departments deserve a similar experience.
The Business Law Center on WestlawNext … in One Sentence
Launched this month, Thomson Reuters' Business Law Center on WestlawNext (Business Law Center) provides a single location for business law research with tools designed to find relevant information quickly at low cost.
The Killer Feature
You'll find information on the Business Law Center unavailable elsewhere, including more than one million public and private mergers and acquisition deal documents and transaction summaries. Other proprietary materials include bond offerings and other capital markets transactions.
You'll also find other tools of the trade — up-to-date SEC and global filings and disclosures, EDGAR precedent agreements, SEC administrative materials (including "the most comprehensive collection of SEC staff comment letters"), and more.
"The Business Law Center on WestlawNext is the easiest-to-use and yet also the most powerful transactional research tool on the market," General Manager of Business Law Solutions Steve Obenski told us. "It's a truly modern website with advanced search and filtering capabilities."
Other Notable Features
Content is king, but only if it's easily accessible and affordable. With the Business Law Center, you can start with a broad search and then narrow it using the product's Advanced Filters. You pay only for the initial search. All the filtering thereafter costs nothing. Search results appear "remarkably fast" according to Obenski.
The Business Law Center's Advanced Filters offer a wealth of criteria, including transaction type (acquisitions, mergers, mezzanine and subordinated debt, public offerings, etc.), industry, law firm, company type, and geography to name a few. Search Templates essentially act like software wizards to guide you through the search process. Obenski says that "finding the information you need in the proverbial haystack has never been easier."
Once you find a document of interest, Related Information provides you with one-click access from a filing to its associated transaction summary, related agreements, and related SEC Comment Letters.
With Advanced Folders, you can save and organize your research, and share it with others on your team. There's no additional charge for others who access your research in Shared Folders.
What Else Should You Know?
Corporate lawyers often work odd hours and weekends because of tight deadlines, as well as clients, co-counsel, and opposing counsel in other time zones. No matter when you're working, you can obtain help via email or telephone from "Experts on Call," a dedicated group of subject matter experts in securities and other transactional law thanks to years of experience creating services such as LIVEDGAR. In fact, Obenski told us that "if you like LIVEDGAR, you'll love Business Law Center." Learn more about The Business Law Center on WestlawNext.
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