Google Nudges Their Way Into LexisNexis and Westlaw Territory

A new program launched by Google is aimed at making the laws that govern us and the major cases that the general public hear about (but probably know very little) much more accessible.

Using Google Scholar, people will be able to find full text opinions of federal, state, appellate, and Supreme Court cases.  There will also be links of articles and other cases that relate to a given search query.

In typical Google fashion, the search is common sense and simple.  Google says their goal is to make the law more accessible by empowering the average citizen with knowledge of the laws.

Of course, this new approach to legal research is not without its problems and the potential for lawsuits.  The legal publishing business is a multi-million dollar business and research powerhouses LexisNexis and Westlaw are probably very concerned about what Google’s foray into legal research will do to their market share.  Hmmmmm… is there a potential anti-trust issue brewing?

I use Westlaw everyday to look up cases, law review articles, and other related information.  I know my initial reaction to Google was to make the switch because I have always found Google so user friendly.

Westlaw and LexisNexis don’t have anything to worry about… yet.  In its current state, Google Scholar doesn’t provide the information a law student or lawyer would need to properly research a case.  By this I mean that the information given by Google, while accurate, lacks some of the other relevant data that an average citizen might not necessarily need, but someone practicing law would.

Hopefully Google’s efforts will force all the major players to increase the law’s accessibility to the common citizen.