Legal research and drafting tool now available anywhere, anytime—enabling faster, timelier completion of work by legal professionals

February 1, 2017 — NEW YORK - LexisNexis® announced the integration of its award-winning Lexis® for Microsoft Office® legal drafting and review solution with Microsoft Office 365 , creating a new cloud-based version of the tool that is accessible anywhere, anytime and on any device directly within Microsoft Word Online. The company made the announcement at a special event held at the Microsoft flagship store in New York City.

Designed natively for the Office 365 platform, the integration delivers new collaboration capabilities for legal professionals with a cloud version of Lexis for Microsoft Office. The solution expands document portability and accessibility as one of the only legal drafting solutions to operate on PCs, Mac® computers, and a wide range of mobile devices. Users and their companies also benefit from automatic software updates of both Office 365 and the Lexis for Microsoft Office add-in. This eliminates the need for IT departments to host Office and add-ins on premises and manage complicated software update schedules.

“By bringing Lexis for Microsoft Office to the cloud with Microsoft Office 365, legal professionals can now conduct legal research, draft documents and share with colleagues within a single Microsoft Word document whether on the road, in the courthouse, at the office or at home,” said Jeff Pfeifer, vice president of Product Management for the North American Research Solutions business at LexisNexis. “LexisNexis is focused on the delivery of drafting solutions through web-connected devices regardless of operating system; the latest cloud version of Lexis for Microsoft Office is a great example of our overall view that technology can empower the next generation of lawyers. This launch enhances lawyer productivity, efficiency and the value they create for their clients.”

LexisNexis designed the integration to fulfill customer imperatives of accessibility, portability and the elimination of software updates. Doing so allows legal professionals to focus on the workflow tasks associated with document creation.

For example, if a lawyer on her evening commuter train ride home receives an assignment to draft a brief that must be ready the next morning, she can access her research on her tablet with Office 365 and Lexis for Microsoft Office while in transit. When she arrives home, she can seamlessly continue work on the same project, now using her laptop—regardless of whether it’s a Mac or a PC—to complete drafting the brief. In a matter of moments she can check citation formats, verify quotes and finish her table of authorities.

“Microsoft Office 365 empowers professional organizations of any size to work better together, with confidence, from anywhere,” said Rob Howard, director, Office 365 Ecosystem. “Through its integration with Office 365, LexisNexis is bringing legal professionals an industry-specific solution that helps them complete work faster, meet deadlines, and make the right impact.”

Lexis for Microsoft Office customers simply open an online Word document using Office 365 from any device or computer, then activate the Lexis for Microsoft Office add-in to access and use legal research and drafting tools without ever leaving their Word document. Utilizing the functionality of Office 365, the online version of Lexis for Microsoft Office offers its most used features, including the ability to:

  • Search for and find legal entities, terms of art, citations and more to gain insight quickly
  • Rapidly validate cited sources with integrated Shepard’s® Citations Service
  • Permanently link citations within your document to content in Lexis Advance® 
  • Efficiently match and set citation format requirements
  • Quickly validate quotes against source documents
  • Conduct legal research using Lexis Advance
  • Store and safeguard Word files in the Microsoft Cloud
  • Prepare and organize a tables of authorities with fast, flexible options

The original Lexis for Microsoft Office software solution continues to be offered with access to the same set of research, drafting and review tools in Word and Outlook. Lexis for Microsoft Office customers can now also access the solution through Word Online via Office 365 as part of their existing Lexis for Microsoft Office subscription. More information about Lexis for Microsoft Office and Office 365 is available at www.lexisnexis.com/Office.

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About LexisNexis® Legal & Professional
LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-profit organizations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organizations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 175 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide, is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.