External Signals
3 new this week
Lateral hire: 4 new litigation partners from DLA Piper. Practice area expanding rapidly — likely to stress current research seat allocation.
Apr 18, 2026 · LinkedIn + Law360
New M&A practice group announced. Harrison Fields hired a 6-attorney M&A team; no current Practical Law M&A modules in their subscription.
Apr 11, 2026 · Press Release
IL Supreme Court amended civil procedure rules effective June 1 — directly impacts litigation practice. High relevance to their core workflow.
Apr 9, 2026 · IL Courts
Firm ranked #4 in Midwest litigation by American Lawyer 2026 rankings — signals growth trajectory and potential budget expansion.
Apr 2, 2026 · Am Law
Managing partner quoted in Crain's on AI adoption in legal research: "We're evaluating how AI tools integrate with our existing platforms."
Mar 28, 2026 · Crain's Chicago
Westlaw Usage Health
Needs Attention
58%
Seats Active (30d)
↓ was 74% last quarter
22d
Avg Days Since Login
↑ was 11d last quarter
3
Power Users (of 40 seats)
↓ was 9 last quarter
91%
Practical Law Adoption
↑ strong — up from 78%
⚠ Churn Signal
Westlaw seat usage has dropped 16 pts in 90 days. Pattern matches pre-churn accounts. Investigate before renewal window opens.
Recommended Actions — Prioritized
Rep: Sarah Chen · Owner since Jan 2025
1
Call Managing Partner re: Westlaw usage drop — before renewal window opens
58% seat activation + 22-day avg login gap = classic pre-churn signal. 4 new litigation hires are not yet set up. Frame as a "make sure your new team is fully activated" call — not a renewal call. Opens the door to re-engagement and upsell in same conversation.
🔴 Churn Risk
2
Pitch Practical Law M&A module — new practice group is unserved
Harrison Fields just built a 6-attorney M&A team with zero Practical Law M&A coverage. They're already strong adopters of PL (91%). This is a natural extension conversation — they know the product, they just need the module that maps to their new work.
🟢 Expansion
3
Reference IL Supreme Court rule change in outreach — proves value of real-time monitoring
New civil procedure rules take effect June 1. Send a pointed note: "Saw the IL Supreme Court update — wanted to make sure your litigation team has the Westlaw alert set up. Here's how." Easy touchpoint that demonstrates why research monitoring matters and re-activates dormant users.
📋 Trigger Event
4
Leverage Am Law ranking in renewal conversation — they're winning
#4 Midwest litigation ranking signals growth, confidence, and potential budget flexibility. Start renewal with congratulations + "firms at this level are expanding their research infrastructure, not trimming it." Sets a different anchor than a standard renewal pitch.
🔵 Renewal
Firm Context
Revenue trajectory: strong. Firm grew headcount 14% YoY. Litigation + M&A expanding. Budget posture likely favorable at renewal.
IT consolidation underway. Crain's article noted "platform rationalization" initiative. Competitor tools may be under evaluation. Timing matters.
Champion: David Nguyen (Dir. of Research Services) — strong PL advocate internally. Westlaw engagement is mostly litigation partners, not research staff.
Peer firm Kovacs & Reilly (same segment, Chicago) expanded their TR contract by 40% after a practice group addition. Shareable reference.
Competitive Radar
Active Risk
Lexis+ AI pilot detected. 2 attorneys at the firm followed Lexis+ on LinkedIn in the past 30 days. Usage drop may be partially exploratory.
vLex showing up in M&A conversations at regional firms. New M&A team may be evaluating options before getting locked in to TR stack.
Casetext (now part of TR) not yet mentioned. If competitor AI tools are on their radar, Casetext CoCounsel is a strong counter — they don't know they already have access.