As of Thursday, I'd successfully redeemed points from both Westlaw and Lexis for DVDs. This was quite exciting, as I seldom get anything in the mail except the former tenant's Self subscription, which is almost certainly the antithesis of legal reading.
The thing is, despite all the bells and whistles each service brags about, they're very similar. I tend to go with Westlaw because all the graphics are blue, which, aesthetically speaking, trumps Lexis's red logos, and because I prefer the layout. Other than that, they do roughly the same thing, and both cost law firms an arm and a leg.
At this point, however, the services are still wooing us, though I'm not sure why. One summer intern's loyalty to Lexis over Westlaw probably isn't going to change the firm's mind about which service to use. Still, I'm not one to turn away legal research freebies.
Having redeemed points, though, I did have one question: whose points are worth more? Using my admittedly small sample and Amazon.com, here's the breakdown:
WESTLAW
DVD 1: 1,800 points, $24.95, or $0.013861 per point.
DVD 2: 600 points, $14.98, or $0.024967 per point.
Average Point Value: $0.0166375
LEXIS
DVD 1: 3,457 points, $79.98, or $0.0231357 per point
So let's get this straight, Westlaw: your points are worth less, and they're harder to get? I like you, and I realize you're the industry leader and all, but it looks like Lexis is trying harder. Plus, Lexis gives us snacks. Time to step up your game, perhaps?
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