CRIV/BBNA Semiannual Call Minutes

CRIV/BBNA Semiannual Call – 6.28.19 (3:00 PM Eastern)
Call Participants: Vani Ungapen, Executive Director (AALL); R. Martin Witt, CRIV Liaison; Joe Breda, President, Bloomberg Law (BBNA); Andrew Prior, Senior Director, Customer Experience (BBNA); Michael Bernier, Director of Knowledge Services and Library Relations (BBNA)

Minutes:

1. Bloomberg BNA Updates (Andrew Prior)

• Litigation Practical Guidance
  • The first suite is live now for anyone with Bloomberg Law entire site license at no additional cost. It integrates the “points of law” and “smart code” features and is designed to allow researchers to work from beginning to end of case.
  • Other features will be coming soon, including special defenses & discovery.
• Dockets
  • Dockets on Bloomberg Law have been given facelift based on user feedback, now providing a clearer presentation of currency information and a more visible Update Docket button.
  • For docket alerts, complaints and other filings can be requested directly from email alert (no login required).
• ABA/BNA Lawyers’ manual on professional conduct
  • This has been converted into a brand new Legal Ethics Practice Center. A method of citation to a permanent record is being explored.
• Bloomberg Law Analysis Channel
  • For more in-depth analysis of legal issues

2. AALL Annual Meeting Update (Mike Bernier & Vani Ungapen)

• Bloomberg BNA is once again a sponsor for the AALL Annual Meeting, at the Silver Level.
• Specific items that BBNA is also sponsoring include:
  • AALL Annual Meeting Bags
  • SR-SIS Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Reception (Sunday, July 14 at 8:00 PM)

  • AALL/Bloomberg Law Continuing Education Grants

  • PLLIP-SIS Summit – For the 10th consecutive year (since inception).

• Almost 1,450 Annual Meeting attendees had registered as of Monday, 6/24/29.

3. CRIV Requests for Assistance (2) (R. Martin Witt)

• TOPIC: Standing Order program
  • BACKGROUND (CRIV): The text of a received letter is reproduced below (emphasis and underlines in original).

Dear Valued Bloomberg Law Books Customer:

As Bloomberg Law continues to deliver high-quality content and analysis that has been the hallmark of Bloomberg BNA since 1926, we are committed to serving your needs.

Moving forward, our Standing Order program will discontinue, and you will no longer automatically receive updates to this title. You can still visit us at Books.BloombergLaw.com to view and purchase all of our available print titles. Please note that this is in an effort to streamline our purchasing processes and to better serve you as we shift to our enhanced digital offerings on Pro.BloombergLaw.com.

We understand that changes to our programs can raise questions and concerns from our clients. For more information regarding your account, please contact us at 1-800-960-1220 or BloombergBNA@cheytec.com. Bloomberg Law is continuously innovating our products and offerings to continue to deliver world-class content to you. We thank you for choosing us as your source for your legal reference products, and greatly appreciate your business.

• QUESTION (CRIV): Can you confirm that the Standing Order program has ceased, effective May 30, 2019?
  • (BBNA): The Standing Order program will actually continue through end of 2019 for all clients. Letters are sent out now on a title-by-title basis, included with final title of 2019.
• QUESTION (CRIV): Can you confirm that existing standing orders will be serviced through end of the year?

  • (BBNA): Yes, standing orders will be serviced through the end of 2019.

• QUESTION (CRIV): If the Standing Order program is being cancelled, is it being cancelled for everyone / every type of library?

  • (BBNA): The Standing Order program is being discontinued across the board, for all types of customers.

• COMMENT (CRIV): The offer to visit Books.BloombergLaw.com to purchase individual titles that were previously covered by the Standing Order program has the potential to significantly increase the time spent acquiring the desired titles. Even understanding the ultimate desire to move to no-print-all-electronic, adding to the workflow of law libraries in the meantime seems to engender some degree of ill will.
  • (BBNA): Many standing order items get returned, and this will eliminate that problem. Users will be able to get title-by-title notification emails when a new edition is available.

• TOPIC: Itemized Invoices
  • BACKGROUND (CRIV):  A law firm with BBNA products that includes several full Bloomberg Law licenses, a firm-wide subscription to a newsletter, and the BNA Tax Management Portfolios in print is expecting to renew (terms were agreed upon with the rep) for the subscription term of June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2019. As of the end of the first week of June, the firm had not been provided with an invoice.
  • QUESTION (CRIV): Is it common practice to have a delay between the start of a subscription term and the issuance of an invoice?
    • (BBNA): Invoices are generally sent before renewal. If there are problems or specific questions, concerned users can contact Mike Bernier.
  • BACKGROUND (CRIV): Related, the firm also requested an itemization of the cost associated with each of the products purchased/to be purchased, demonstrating how much was being paid for each of the full Bloomberg Law licenses, the firm-wide newsletter subscription, and the BNA Tax Management Portfolios in print. In response to that request, they were told that BBNA would not long provide itemized costs.

  • QUESTION (CRIV): Does BBNA no longer offer itemized costs/invoices showing the money put towards discrete parts of a subscription?

    • (BBNA): Items are generally purchased as package and those packages are individually negotiated.

    • (BBNA): The invoice does not include itemization, but a library’s individual BBNA Representative can be asked for a quote on what a particular package might cost without a specific title in it.

    • (BBNA): It is possible in an invoice to break out print v. electronic costs. Anyone seeking that information in encouraged to contact Mike Bernier.