20 Things You Didn’t Know About LexisNexis
LexisNexis is an American organization that sells data analytics products and other databases through its online portals. Some of the company’s products include law practice management tools, publications, market intelligence tools, court documents, and so on. This company works closely with law enforcement agencies, legal professionals, federal homeland security departments, etc. The company provides its clients with either publicly available information or non-public information. Through the information LexisNexis provides, lawyers can use it to win their cases or help corporations curb corruption within their supply chains. You may have already known what the company does, but there are certain things you may not be well versed about this company. Here are 20 things you didn’t know about LexisNexis.
1. The Firm Launched a Fellowship Program Aimed at Addressing Systemic Racism in Legal Systems in 2021
The firm was awarded for promoting diversity in the workplace, so it is no surprise that they launched such a fellowship. Some of the organizations the company partnered with to launch the fellowship were Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Law School Consortium (HBCULSC), North Carolina Central University School of Law, and the list is endless. When you become a fellow, you will be awarded $10,000 and spend 9 months working towards advancing your legal career.
2. LexisNexis Launched Nexis Data Lab in 2021
Nexis Data Lab is a data mining and analysis tool that allows students and academic researchers to search for information on the Nexis news archive. Going through news archives can be time-consuming, but fortunately, Nexis Data Lab shortens the time needed to curate a data set. The system shortens the research time through a secure, end-to-end, cloud-based Jupyter notebook. With this notebook, researchers will not have to rely on traditional API solutions, which take days or weeks to render the results of your search. To use Nexis Data Lab, you need not be an experienced researcher. So, you do not need to download any code; instead, you will use the software’s pre-packaged code.
3. The Company Scooped an Award for Diversity
In 2020, the CEO of LexisNexis, Mike Walsh, was named one of the top ten best CEOs by Comparably. For Mike to be awarded, non-Caucasian employees anonymously rated the company. According to LexisNexis, the employees rated the company during a 12-month period (June 30, 2019 to June 30, 2020). LexisNexis received this award alongside other companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google, which Mike considered a great honor to be ranked with such popular companies.
4. LexisNexis is Keen on Employment Resource Group (ERG) Diversity
In the United States, companies commonly narrow down diversity to race. While race is one aspect to consider when employing workers, there are other areas of diversity. This company understands the nature of diversity, which explains why they have 16 ERGs. Just to list a few, there are ERGs geared towards mental health, women in tech, religion, and dyslexia awareness.
5. Some People Have Claimed That the Company is Enabling the Deportation of Immigrants
In 2021, LexisNexis supplied personal information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The information provided details about the people’s location, family relationships, work history, and many other data points. LexisNexis was able to collect this information thanks to their tool, Accurint. Many experts, however, expressed their concern for Accurint. According to the Crime Report, the tool does not explore why people fled from their country. For instance, it means a person fleeing from war in their country could end up being deported, thereby endangering their life.
6. The Company Launched Nexis for Competitive Intelligence in 2021
The purpose of the application is to empower strategy, investment decisions, and market research. It allows users to immediately search, compare and analyze certain business indicators like news, patent or M&A, and intellectual property information to visualize how the competition stacks up. With this tool, you can compare 6 businesses at once based on your preferred business indicators.
7. LexisNexis Acquired Flyreel in 2022
Flyreel was a property technology firm that would use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to facilitate self-service property inspections. The company’s technology effectively analyzes the interior and exterior of structures, which is greatly beneficial for insurance firms. Based on the information provided by Flyreel, underwriters can correctly determine the premium of the analyzed structure. By acquiring Flyreel, LexisNexis will be able to complement their data with Flyreel’s to help assess the risk of a structure’s inhabitants and location.
8. The Company Added an Enhancement to the Lexis+® Ecosystem in 2021
The enhancement that the company introduced was Judicial Brief Analysis. This enhancement accelerates and improves the document comparison process, which helps legal professionals gain the insight needed to deliver compelling arguments. Some of the tools and features offered by the enhancement include side-by-side comparisons, a unique dashboard view, and secondary content recommendations, among many others.
9. LexisNexis Earned the SIIA CODiE™ Award in 2021
The company’s product, Nexis Newsdesk™, was what made the company get recognized in the annual SIIA CODiE™ Awards for being the best in content search and discovery. According to SIIA, the purpose of the awards show is to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Newsdesk is a customer-driven innovation that enables LexisNexis to converse with its clients. By conversing with clients, LexisNexis can offer the proper solutions to their challenges, for instance, on matters of executive positioning or brand messaging.
10. The Company Teamed Up With Africa Legal to Draft a Report on the Rule of Law in Africa in 2022
The report detailed some of the trends, aspirations, and barriers to the rule of law throughout Africa. This report was compiled with input from respondents in 24 separate African jurisdictions. By reading the report, the reader can compare and contrast attitudes towards the rule of law from different demographics based on career stage, job role, and location. The aim of the report was to push governments and the private sector to partner on initiatives to strengthen the rule of law.
11. The Company Was Awarded a Five-Year, Multi-Million Contract with the United States Federal Judiciary in 2019
The contract stipulated that LexisNexis would be the major information provider to the United States Federal Judiciary. The judicial team would be allowed to access a myriad of information on analytics, people and public records consent, news, and so on. LexisNexis had been working closely with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, so it was no surprise they landed this contract.
12. LexisNexis Once Had a Five-Part Podcast Called Law360 Explores: Legalization in 2019
The podcast was hosted by senior cannabis reporter, Diana Novak Jones. This podcast would analyze all the legal implications a cannabis business faces. Since the United States is a federal nation, cannabis is only legal in some states. According to World Population Review, cannabis remains illegal in 17 states. Due to the drug remaining illegal in some states, cannabis businesses cannot work effectively. Some of the issues they highlighted that such businesses face include high taxation and the constant change of state regulations.
13. LexisNexis Condemned Russia for Invading Ukraine in 2022
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people worldwide have felt its impact besides Ukraine. Although they condemned Russia, they ensured that people in Ukraine would have the necessary legal resources to help them during the crisis. An example of a legal resource the organization developed was the “Ukraine Invasion Resource Kit.” The resource advises clients on matters of financial transactions, cyber security preparedness, and potential divestitures of business interests.
14. The Company Launched a News Program That Focuses on the Rule of Law in 2018
The news program is known as “Access to Justice Law360.” LexisNexis teamed up with Law360 so that they could advance the rule of law globally. The coverage focuses on the inability of the vulnerable and disadvantaged populations to receive equal treatment within criminal and civil justice systems. Their coverage will be in the form of a weekly newsletter on the Law360 website.
15. LexisNexis Partnered With LV=GI to Combat Ghost Broking
Ghost broking is the practice of selling you an insurance policy that is non-existent or invalid. The practice is concerning due to how rapidly it is rising. According to SOCP, there was a 10% increase in ghost broking in 2021 compared to the previous year. To tame the vice, LexisNexis teamed up with LV=GI to incorporate its technology, Emailage Rapid, into the insurer’s application process. Emailage Rapid verifies the applicant’s identity to check whether they have been involved in any fraudulent activity. The program then generates a score that informs you whether the applicant is genuine or fraudulent.
16. The Firm Has Legal eBooks in the Amazon Kindle Store
Since this organization works closely with legal professionals, it is fitting that they would release some legal books. You can access the firm’s eBooks through Amazon Kindle or LexisNexis® Digital Library. Some of the eBooks cover topics like immigration, bankruptcy, tax, and many other legal topics. Additionally, they have textbooks and casebooks that law students could use to enable them to pass their examinations. Since most of the eBooks are based on individual publications, the prices of the eBooks vary.
17. There Were Several Instances of Phishing in 2013
When a company grows in popularity, it is inevitable that some people would try to swindle others by posing as LexisNexis workers. That year, several LexisNexis clients received invoices from people masquerading as LexisNexis staff. It seemed hard to determine the authenticity of the emails, but upon close observation, you would notice that the emails were from outside the company’s systems. Therefore, the company advised users not to open the email; if they did, they were urged to report to the firm’s IT department.
18. LexisNexis Has a Payment Platform That Facilitates Payment of Law Firms
LexisNexis partnered with AffiniPay in 2021 to launch the platform called LawPay® for Juris®. The platform allows you to pay via debit card, credit card, and eCheck. This software pays quickly, so many law firms have begun to embrace this payment method. The platform enables firms to streamline posting cash receipts for operating and trust payments. As a result, firms can maintain compliance with bar regulations while removing the manual processes associated with reconciliation.
19. The Firm Awarded Morrison and Foerster (MoFo) the “2022 Deal of the Year Award”
LexisNexis awarded moFo for advising SoftBank to sell Arm United for $40 billion to NVIDIA. LexisNexis understands how complex making such a deal is, and that explains why the company is awarding people who can advise large firms. This particular deal was complex from a regulatory standpoint. For instance, if the deal had gone through, SoftBank would need approval from the European Union, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Still, MoFo was able to advise the company regarding the sale process.
20. New York University (NYU) Law Students Urged the Institution to Sever Ties With LexisNexis in 2021
Earlier, we talked about the controversy surrounding the firm’s partnership with ICE. Since the students felt the firm was unfairly targeting the deportation of immigrants, they joined a national campaign that called for NYU and other universities to cut off ties with LexisNexis. The students rallied just outside the LexisNexis building. Besides protesting on the street, they held webinars and participated in social media campaigning. However, there is a dilemma regarding cutting off ties with the organization. Law students also depend on LexisNexis whenever they need to research court cases. So, it remains to be seen whether they will achieve this goal.
Conclusion
Since LexisNexis is heavily involved with legal processes, it is no surprise that the firm would be passionate about social justice and diversity. Even though the company can be praised for its diversity role, the same can be hard to determine regarding the immigration issue. However, the one issue it has shouldn’t be a reason to cut off ties with the company. Perhaps, the organization could in the future, address the issue in a better way. So, if you need to strengthen your legal knowledge while learning to treat people better, this firm will do just that.
