Nine bluechips sign up 60 firms for cutting-edge legal network
A group of the world's leading companies, led by Cisco, have developed an innovative networking website that will give them free access to major law firms' precedents. The computer company is joined by Microsoft, General Motors and investment banking giants Citi and Merrill Lynch in the venture, dubbed Legal OnRamp, which will offer clients access to legal advice, precedents and updates as well as networking facilities such as 'wikis' and online chatrooms.
June 21, 2007 at 10:38 AM
3 minute read
A group of the world's leading companies, led by Cisco, have developed an innovative networking website that will give them free access to major law firms' precedents.
The computer company is joined by Microsoft, General Motors and investment banking giants Citi and Merrill Lynch in the venture, dubbed Legal OnRamp, which will offer clients access to legal advice, precedents and updates as well as networking facilities such as 'wikis' and online chatrooms.
More than 60 international firms, including UK heavyweights Linklaters, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper and Eversheds, have signed up to the site, allowing access to documentation and posting answers to questions on various practice areas and jurisdictions.
US firms including White & Case, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Baker Botts have also added content to the site.
The venture was launched earlier this year by software development company Qulas, although Cisco led the drive to create the nine-company consortium.
Qulas chief executive Paul Lippe, former general counsel at US software giant Synopsys, said companies were attempting to avoid paying for duplicated legal work. "A lot of law is just 'tagging' words," he said. "Companies get tired of paying for the same information over and over."
He added that basic content on the site would be free for both companies and firms, although law firms could choose to pay to add extra pages to the site.
The move has drawn parallels to the Banking Legal Technology Group, an extranet system that launched in 2003 and allows around 16 banks – including Deutsche Bank – access to material from five major UK firms. However, the Legal OnRamp system is unique as will allow clients access to a much wider range of documentation.
Orrick practice manager Josh Rosenfeld said: "This is an opportunity for us to put out information to a select group of in-house lawyers – it is a better use of our marketing and business development time. In-house counsel are very busy; this will give them a repository of experience and information they can tap into when they need it."
Nick Williams, Eversheds' head of e-business, said: "This is the first global venture of this kind to have got to this stage. Firms will be happy to share precedents – companies buy lawyers, not paperwork."
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