LexisNexis Reviews

“broken and costly AI

Pros

Frankly I am really unhappy with this product overall and wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know or trust.

Cons

What I discovered is that they lock customers into lengthy contracts and the AI itself performs very poorly. They do provide guidance for crafting prompts to get the result you want but even their suggested prompt formats rarely produce the intended output. On top of that there's an option to upload a document for the AI to work from yet it only returns about four or five useful responses before you have to reset and start again. I've seen much better tools that cost a fraction of this so I would steer clear.

“Very easy and helpful to use

Pros

Well I can easily use it right out of the gate, search effectively with multiple filters and the whole experience feels genuinely user-friendly. On top of that the customer support is great..responsive, helpful and there when I need them. It�s a tool that just works well and has my back.

Cons

When I switch from 'cases' to 'statutes' or 'secondary materials' to 'admin. materials' my search filters don't save properly.

“Great for finding court cases

Pros

During law school it was a huge help for me whenever I needed to track down relevant jurisprudence quickly and reliably. Instead of getting lost in stacks of books or disjointed databases I could focus on understanding the law and building my arguments. It really was an essential tool for getting through my research and studies efficiently.

Cons

I found the advanced search feature really hard to use.

“too expensive for small firms

Pros

this is one of the most capable legal research platforms I've come across basically Lexis and Westlaw dominate the space. Those two hold the bulk of the market share and I would choose it if it were priced more reasonably but at its current cost I can't.

Cons

my biggest issue is the price. I've found that Lexis has settled into a pricing model that assumes customers ,typically firms have nearly unlimited budgets for research and as a solo practitioner just starting out I would need to explore more affordable alternatives.

“useful but feels old and clumsy

Pros

I find it contains an extensive database of case law and scholarly articles. I use the Advanced version which includes a built-in search filter that handles all my searching tasks. The timeline tool helps me locate the case's pertinent rulings. Having citations for articles and cases readily available saves me a lot of time.

Cons

It still needs significant improvements to match Westlaw, several features I expect are absent including detailed case layouts and tags for rulings. The user interface feels outdated to me and could use updates as well as better navigation tools.

“An expert's favorite research tools

Pros

Lexis Advance is my essential, all-in-one legal research platform. I rely on Practical Guidance and Law360 daily.. the attached sample filings save me immense time and money. I love how the simple dropdown lets me instantly access tools like Intelligize and I prefer it for case updates over KeyCite. Most importantly having Lex Machina analytics woven right into my search results and Shepard's reports gives me not just the law but the strategic insight I need all in one smooth workflow.

Cons

I am not a fan of using Matthew Bender titles as standalone products. Rather than hopping between platforms, I launch everything from the main Lexis menu so I don't have to switch systems. Even after many years working with both Lexis and Bender content I'm still frequently unclear which treatises live on Bender and which are hosted directly on it. Over time I've ended up spending way too much money downloading chapters I believed were on Bender but turned out to be on Lexis proper. It also baffles me that a Bender title can't be linked with a simple permalink the way you can on Cheetah, Proquest, or West ProView , that's a real pain. Overall it's frustrating. We use SSO at my firm yet when someone forgets their credentials and contacts Lexis, support tells them to reset a password which isn't possible under SSO. That disconnect around password recovery is maddening and the whole password management process desperately needs improvement.

“Has everything I need to work

Pros

What I find most valuable about this tool is that on the web, it gives me access to a wide range of law books, statutes, case law reports and scholarly articles, everything I need to carry out research or to learn about a topic.

Cons

I can't really find anything on the site that I dislike it meets my needs without any obvious downsides.

“reliable but costs too much

Pros

I am really impressed by how interactive it feels. The platform provides everything I need to align my research and zero in on relevant case law without wasting time. My favorite tool is definitely the Shepardize function and it helps me confirm whether a case still holds and gives me confidence in citing it. I also rely on the headnote search to pull up other opinions that address the same key points I'm hunting for which saves me a lot of digging.

Cons

the main drawback for me is the price it feels pretty pricey to keep using. I think it ends up costing more than many other platforms that offer similar capabilities and that higher cost is something I notice every billing cycle and which makes me question whether it's worth it for my needs.

“The best tool for organizing research

Pros

One of my go-to features is the research folders option it makes separating topics and organizing the cases I look up really simple keeping everything in one handy spot. I also appreciate the highlighting tool which helps mark important passages. Another huge time-saver is being able to copy text from a case and automatically get the citation copied along with it. That feature cuts down an enormous amount of time I used to spend formatting citations. The public records search capabilities are valuable too since they help uncover information that's already public. A lot of municipalities and states still require formal records requests and sometimes charge fees to access certain documents, so having those search tools built in is useful.

Cons

Finding exactly what I need often requires quite a bit of filtering and narrowing of searches so it's not as simple as typing a quick query like you would in a Google-style search. That said I don't consider this a flaw with it, it's just a different more targeted way of searching.

“Great filters, logs out too fast

Pros

the filters are very efficient when I am searching for case law within a particular jurisdiction or a specific area of law.

Cons

Honestly the automatic logout kicks in way too soon. I wish it wouldn't sign me out so quickly because it interrupts my workflow.

“costly & hard to use

Pros

I find large volumes of caselaw and analysis and it's fairly easy to access.

Cons

My small firm finds the cost high and it's harder to use than the main competitor actually.

“Great search but needs better features

Pros

Honestly I really appreciate not having to rifle through mountains of books to find case citations and other details. I can search the entire body of law for particular words and phrases that matter to me and I value that a good search term will usually turn up the result I need. There's a reasonable assurance that, provided I craft strong search queries I'll locate what I'm after without wasting time..

Cons

One drawback I notice is that interface feels less interactive than WestLaw's which can be frustrating. I'm aware they're rivals but it seems like Lexis could raise its standards a bit ,there are some features and capabilities where they seem behind what I'd expect by now. Natural language searching still feels hit-or-miss and I've seen the boolean operators return incorrect or noisy results on occasion. Another annoying limitation is that I don't appear to be able to set a more useful default search ,like having statutes show up first since I look at statutory material far more often than other sources. All of this makes certain searches take longer than they should.

“very easy but too expensive

Pros

It is really simple to use and it consistently gives great results, overall it's very user-friendly.

Cons

Honestly the service is priced so high that I find it potentially cost prohibitive for regular use.

“good training but runs slowly

Pros

I love that Lexis training is available and spot on and I find the user functions interactive.

Cons

At times I find the server runs very slowly and it can take a long time to load the site.

“Perfect for checking case law

Pros

When I use the Shepardize feature it becomes so simple for me to check whether particular caselaw is still good law or has been overturned. Also having access to secondary sources is really useful because it helps me quickly find and jump to the most relevant cases.

Cons

I am not a fan of the in-case navigation bar that helps you switch between the opinion and the headnotes. I prefer a vertical side navigation panel ,like the one Westlaw uses because I find that layout far more interactive and easier to use when moving through a case.

“Removed a favorite old feature

Pros

One area where I find Lexis Advance actually beats Westlaw Next is right in the initial search window. When I pick which jurisdictions to include, It lets me run the search directly from the filter box, while Westlaw forces me to click "Save" and then hit search, so It spares me that extra mouse click. I also find Lexis's filtering UI a bit more user-friendly than Westlaw's for example It provides a draggable date slider to narrow results by date which I appreciate as a handy little feature.

Cons

When I used the original Lexis the topic index was one of my favorite tools and it let me search by topic and then showed the relevant headnotes for that topic alongside each case in the results. These headnotes made it clear why a case appeared under a given topic. Now, when I run a topic search on it, the results only show the standard case overview. Without the headnote visible in the results I can't tell from the list why a particular case was classified under that topic or what the case actually says about the issue I'm researching. That's a major downgrade, the revamped topic index feels useless and just wastes my time. Fortunately Westlaw Next's KeyCite directory still gives me that functionality but it's baffling and frustrating that Lexis Advance removed something that was so helpful.

“super easy to use

Pros

It's very interactive and looks great visually. Whenever I search on it, I'm confident I'm pulling the most relevant results and end up really pleased with what I find. I've never run into problems using it and their customer support has always been excellent whenever I've needed help.

Cons

Its pricey, much like other legal platforms which can be a barrier for smaller practices. In my view, their legal news coverage could be broadened or enhanced to be more useful day-to-day. Apart from those points I'm very satisfied with the service overall.

“All my tools in one place

Pros

It provides alot of research tools consolidated into a single platform which I really appreciate. I like being able to search by practice area or by keyword and I can filter results down to forms, notes and other specific types. When I'm putting together a new document, having those Lexis forms as a starting point is often genuinely useful.

Cons

Occasionally the search comes back with items that don't seem relevant to what I'm researching. It might be because Lexis simply lacks content on that specific topic but in those cases I would prefer the system to indicate 'no results' or otherwise make it clear there isn't applicable material rather than returning unrelated documents.

“easy search but pricey for grads

Pros

I've found the filters and various options help me locate specific items much more quickly.

Cons

the cost can become quite high for recent graduates when their employer isn't covering the subscription fees.

“perfect tool for law students

Pros

I appreciate how simple it is to search for cases. I can narrow results by State, City, Year, Journal, Supreme Court appeal or other primary and secondary sources etc. Interning using it has been really helpful and it makes comparing the facts of one case to other real-life case law far easier and much more efficient.

Cons

Right now I'm getting access for free as a law student and I've also used it on the job. When I graduate which will be soon I'll lose that access and will have to buy some version of it because I've grown very familiar with the platform but its monthly cost is just so expensive overall.