When Westlaw's Down, Lawyer Twitter Goes Wild
For a period of a bit over an hour on Thursday, Thomson Reuters' Westlaw legal research service went down. And when given some unexpected free time on their hands, Twitter had some things to say.
July 23, 2020 at 11:15 AM
3 minute read
The home page for Thomson Reuters' Westlaw Edge legal research platform.
For a period of a bit over an hour on Thursday, Thomson Reuters' Westlaw legal research service went down. Thomson Reuters confirmed to LTN that the system was down for a bit during the day, though it didn't provide additional details.
But that didn't stop lawyers on Twitter from doing what people on Twitter do best: poking fun at the situation. When given some unexpected free time on their hands, the Twitterati responded with the beginning of the lawpocolypse, some Supreme Court trolling, and a few legal research industry jabs. Here's a few of our favorites.
westlaw is down
There Is No Law
EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED
— Josh Chafetz (@joshchafetz) July 22, 2020
Westlaw is down. The time for my plan – which is to craft my own artisanal cases – has come.
— Raffi Melkonian (@RMFifthCircuit) July 22, 2020
With Westlaw down I'm about as useless as a law grad who hasn't passed the bar
— Priv (@privilegelog) July 22, 2020
WESTLAW is experiencing a system-wide outage.
I literally have no idea how to do legal research via books. I am doomed.
— Adam (@adam_alba) July 22, 2020
if Westlaw goes down, and you can't remember the rules which you would have looked up on Westlaw, are you a competent attorney?
Asking for future me.
— Andrew Shulman (@DewShulman) July 22, 2020
The #Westlaw outage causing the legal industry to come to a grinding halt is proof that legal practice comes from research, not memorization. #DiplomaPrivilegeNow #DiplomaPrivilege
— Hannah Godwin (@worksfornaps) July 22, 2020
Lawyers: Westlaw is down!! Brett Kavanaugh: What's Westlaw? Noel Francisco: Something that has no bearing on our work, Mr. Justice sir. https://t.co/OKj4GOcHk9
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) July 22, 2020
WESTLAW is down There are no laws Free this good long-tailed dog immediately https://t.co/ICSD1UCHi3
— Tweetmonger™️ Certified Bunker Inspector (@DwayneFuhlhage) July 22, 2020
If you're in a jam, you can sign up for a 24-hour free trial of @Fastcase legal research, or use our free iOS or Android apps. https://t.co/mb2wtnesqL. I'm biased, but I think you'll like it. Happy searching!
— Ed Walters (@EJWalters) July 22, 2020
LexisNexis lookin at all y'all's tweets about WestLaw. pic.twitter.com/DROIipa4FS
— tezira (@tezabe) July 22, 2020
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