KeySearch
An addition to westlaw.com, West Group’s Web-based research platform, KeySearch brings West’s Key Number System and the knowledge of West Group’s top research attorneys together in one tool.

To use KeySearch, researchers first point and click their way through a well-organized list of legal topics and subtopics. They can then choose the sources they want to search: reported cases, unreported cases, or analytical law sources. KeySearch then gives researchers an expertly formulated query containing a combination of topics, key numbers, and underlying terms. Users simply need to click Search to retrieve on-point results.

"KeySearch carries the pedigree of more than 125 years of West Group editorial excellence," said Forrest Rhoads, vice president of legal product development at West Group. "Researchers will discover to their surprise and delight that KeySearch puts the full power of the only time-tested legal-classification system—the Topic and Key Number System—at their ready disposal. KeySearch is proof positive that the blending of careful editorial analysis with sophisticated technology is the winning combination."
 

Company Profiles
Nearly 90,000 non-U.S. company profiles have been added to the existing 300,000 U.S. company reports in the Company Profiles database—a content increase of nearly 25 percent. These non-U.S. profiles include both public and private companies, with a majority of the coverage on privately held companies for which information has traditionally been difficult to find. Editors and business researchers in the subject country compile the data for the global collection. This localized coverage ensures that the editors and researchers have close knowledge of the companies, countries, and markets.

"In keeping with our commitment to customer-centric product development, the addition of international business content was based primarily on feedback from our customers," said Marilee Winiarski, West Group’s senior director of strategic licensing and Westnews product development. "Our Company Profile reports are beneficial to large law firms as well as international litigators and business practitioners because they contain accurate reference information. The reports help our customers gain valuable insight into a company’s corporate and financial status, products and brands, activities, branches, and subsidiaries, as well as locate key decision makers within the company."

The content in the Company Profiles database is supplied by Graham & Whiteside, a division of Gale Group (http://www
.galegroup.com). 

The collection includes the following public and private companies:

• More than 34,000 European 
• Nearly 8,000 Middle Eastern 
• More than 13,000 Far Eastern 
• More than 9,000 Commonwealth of Independent States (former countries of the Soviet Union) 
• More than 9,000 Latin American 
• More than 6,000 African 
• Approximately 5,000 Southwest Asian 

Westlaw Subscription Services
West Group’s new Web-based enhancements allow attorneys to search, price, and order flat-rate Westlaw subscriptions online. 

"For the first time, attorneys will be able to purchase a new subscription and start researching on Westlaw within minutes of accessing the Web," said Mike Milkovich, senior director of e-commerce for West Group. "This is the quickest and easiest access to Westlaw, and it is now available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

New searching options will help attorneys identify the Westlaw plan that meets their practice needs. Choices include flat-rate, annual subscription plans for 200 Westlaw products. Popular products like Norton’s on Bankruptcy, West Forms, and KeyCite are offered, in addition to jurisdictional subscription options.

These Web-based enhancements are available for both new and existing Westlaw subscribers. New subscribers will receive an instant password to Westlaw via e-mail, and they can start researching on Westlaw within minutes. Current subscribers can use the Internet to purchase additional Westlaw content, and access that new content after midnight the same day.

Alternatively, researchers can continue to purchase Westlaw subscriptions through their local West Group sales representative. "West Group is committed to increasing the ease of accessing Westlaw, and with this new online offering, subscribers can choose the purchasing method that best fits their needs," said Milkovich.

Source: West Group, Eagan, MN, 800/328-7990; http://www.westgroup.com.