In a shameless effort to promote use of Lexis and Westlaw amongst law students (so the students will pay a premium for these services later in their professional lives) both companies offer incentives to students in the form of contests and points.

The more one logs in to each service, the more points that student “earns”. Both services award 10 points for every log-in, and both services limit the point-earning log-ins to a 7 per week. Thus, with the exception of special promotions and contests, each law student in the country can “earn” 70 points per week on each of Lexis and Westlaw.

I’ve had a lot of discussions about the value of a Lexis or Westlaw point. Everyone I’ve talked to seems to have a different impression of the most valuable way to spend the points. I decided sit down and figure out what these points are actually worth. I’ll be reporting my findings over the next few days. Stay tuned…