Westlaw China Goes Global

Thomson Reuters delivers practice-oriented content: organized, searchable and available in legal-quality English translation

EAGAN, Minn., Nov. 6, 2008 Leading attorneys practicing in today's global marketplace agree that Chinese law is important to the future of their practice. With one-fifth of the world's population, expansion of western business operations and an evolving legal system, the People's Republic of China (PRC) offers great opportunities to law firms and in-house legal staff who can deftly navigate its complicated legal system.

But the options available for U.S. and U.K. attorneys needing Chinese legal information to support their practice often missed the mark. That's where Westlaw China comes in. With the global launch of Westlaw China, legal practitioners now have access to the legal industry's preeminent collection of Chinese case law and legislation, complete with accurate English translations and delivered through the familiar Westlaw research service.

"Prior to the launch of Westlaw China, we surveyed attorneys and law students in China and in the U.S. to determine the pain points for legal research in Chinese law," said Stephen Yao, chief executive officer, Westlaw China. "This customer-centric approach, along with our own knowledge of the Chinese legal system, was used to develop Westlaw China. More and more western businesses have operations in China and the law firms that represent them are now growing their presence in China as well. This gives Westlaw the opportunity to be the single credible source of legal information relating to the practice of law in China."

Westlaw China is up-to-date, practical and conveniently organized into digests, giving attorneys a more complete view of the issues affecting their clients and their business. Trained legal editors gather and translate legislation and cases, summarize the legal issues in each document and build legal topic hierarchies from the issues central to these laws and cases. All this information is linked by legal concept, not just key word, and easily accessible with search tools familiar to any Westlaw user.

And much of the content comes in the form of quality English translations from professional legal translators who can preserve the meaning and nuance in legal language.

"Westlaw China will help you understand the issues before talking to others, carefully craft queries that need to be answered by Chinese experts and properly interpret results from Chinese counsel," said Yao. "The service also will help control law firm costs by reducing the time needed to process questions and by using outside counsel more wisely."

"Westlaw is recognized as the benchmark for authoritative legal information and analysis by legal professionals around the world, and is among the most valuable global brands for Thomson Reuters," said Peter Warwick, president and chief executive officer, Thomson Reuters Legal. "Westlaw China's successful launch – and its potential as an important resource for global law firms, corporations doing business in China and law schools – is an important step in the growth of Westlaw as a truly global resource."

Note to Editors:
Westlaw China is built with the familiar user interface, intuitive search tools and editorial enhancements that Westlaw customers know and trust. Get more information and watch a video overview at http://west.thomson.com/westlaw/global/china.

Visit http://westblog.net to view interviews with Stephen Yao and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson. Justice Anderson has traveled extensively in China, and has longstanding consulting relationships with lawyers and law schools in China.

Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions, software and services to the U.S. legal market. West is part of Thomson Reuters. For more information, please visit the West Web site at west.thomson.com.

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minn., Thomson Reuters employs more than 50,000 people in 93 countries. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Toronto Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.