CRIV Liaison and Bloomberg BNA Semi-Annual Meeting
December 7, 2017 at 11:00 AM ET
Attendance and Introductions:
Present on the call were: Mike Bernier, Director of Library Relations, Bloomberg BNA; Kirstin Nelson, CRIV liaison; Kate Hagan, Executive Director, AALL.
New Bloomberg BNA Products, Policies, and Other Issues of Interest to AALL Members
New Branding for Product Lines
Mike Bernier discussed Bloomberg BNA’s four key product lines, noting that each is now branded to highlight the topical content. The four product lines are Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, Bloomberg Government, and Bloomberg Environment. These platforms provide legal, tax, compliance, government affairs, and government contracting professionals with critical information, practical guidance, and workflow solutions.
BNA Law Reports Platform Changes
Mr. Bernier highlighted platform changes to BNA Law Reports that started to launch in October 2017. The new platform allows for real-time updates, rather than a single daily news release. This upgrade gives the platform a newswire feel. Users now have access to more customized alert settings, including time of day for delivery, and other filters. The changes were first rolled out with the Environmental & Safety materials, with several notices going out to subscribers before the platform change. The next practice area to see the new platform will be Labor & Employment and Benefits & Compensation Law Reports. Users will have dual access to the old and new platforms for 60-days to allow time to adapt to the changes. The new platform is intended to consolidate BNA news materials into fewer overall titles, but will not reduce the overall coverage. BNA will assign new ISSN numbers and revise MARC records to reflect the changes.
Points of Law
In September 2017, Bloomberg BNA released Points of Law. This tool offers a streamlined option for case law research. Point of Law uses machine learning algorithms to comb court opinions and highlight language critical to a court’s reasoning and link this language to a related point of law.
Length-Of-Case Predictive Analytics
Bloomberg BNA’s Litigation Analytics tool can now compare how long judges typically take to resolve cases, as well as how long cases take to resolve in specific jurisdictions and across all federal district courts. This new functionality uses docket information to provide predictive analytics to help determine litigation strategy and estimate costs.
Docket Key
In October 2017, Bloomberg BNA introduced Docket Key, a proprietary system that identifies and classifies entries on a docket sheet. The product uses machine learning to target 20 categories, including motions, complaints, notices, briefs, and orders.
Requests for Assistance/Member Advocacy Issues
There were no member requests for assistance received since the last meeting.
Questions/Updates
Ms. Nelson inquired about a timeline for the BNA.com sunset. Bloomberg BNA responded that no date had been set.
Meeting ended at approximately 11:45 AM ET
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CRIV Liaison and Bloomberg BNA Semi-Annual Meeting Follow-up
March 12, 2018 at 2:00 PM ET
Present on the call were: Mike Bernier, Director of Library Relations, Bloomberg BNA; Kirstin Nelson, CRIV liaison; Rick Montella, Executive VP, Commercial Strategy, Bloomberg BNA.
Addendum
In January 2018 CRIV received a request for assistance from an AALL member seeking an update on the status of the BNA.com platform. In follow-up correspondence with Mike Bernier, a plan to sunset the platform was made after the December 2017 call. CRIV scheduled a follow-up teleconference to gather information. Greg McCaffery, Chief Executive Officer of Bloomberg BNA, released a Customer Communication in early 2018 describing changes to BNA.com that will take place over the remainder of the year.
Sunset of BNA.com
Bloomberg BNA has released a timeline for the sunset of the BNA.com platform. Bloomberg BNA will also decommission numerous print titles, but content will remain electronically available. Access to BNA.com will end as contracts come up for renewal, and subscribers may continue their BNA content by upgrading to Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, Bloomberg Government or Bloomberg Environment, or a portion thereof. Most print publications will cease in 2018, and will require a Bloomberg BNA subscription for electronic access. Bloomberg BNA is providing print subscribers five seats to the equivalent electronic content until the end of an existing contract. Tax Management, Corporate and Healthcare Portfolios will continue in print but a Bloomberg BNA electronic subscription will be required to receive the Tax Management print series only. . The ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct will continue in print format.
Please direct questions about BNA.com content and contracts to your account representative.
Meeting ended at approximately 2:25 PM ET
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