Virtually all lawyers rely on computerized research these days, and Westlaw probably has the largest share of the market. Westlaw has been down all day. This means that there are thousands upon thousands of lawyers across the country who cannot do legal research. On some days, that’s not a big deal. But if you have to file a motion or an appeal, you’d be in deep trouble. I suppose this means that, as I write this, there are hundreds of emergency motions being filed for an extension of time to file that motion, or that appeal.
Imagine if Westlaw had to compensate the lawyers for their lost productivity? What I don’t get is how such a huge company can be without any backup or redundancy to its system?
So what does a lawyer do when he can’t research? Here in the Northeast, today, he could leave early and shovel his walk. Or he could write a meaningless blog entry . . . .