• by Fern Siegel , May 13, 2011

To address the niche world of lawsuits and legal decisions online, Thomson Reuters has launched a new site and mobile app geared to New York-based legal practitioners.

The news agency has teamed with Westlaw, an online legal research service for lawyers. Called "New York Legal," the site covers key verdicts and profiles the attorneys behind influential cases; it also updates firm news and client representation. Categories include news, insight, legal materials, bankrupcy law and securities law.

When appropriate, Reuters will link to authored material from Westlaw, including treatise materials from authoritative authors as well as case law summaries and analysis from its attorney-editors.

"We've created a new approach to professional news," stated Steve Adler, editor in chief of Reuters.

Legal journalist Alison Frankel, previously with American Lawyer, kicks off the site with her "On the Case" column -- a daily take on the most important litigation and litigators in the U.S. She is also editor-in-charge for law. Reuters staffers supplying legal news include Amy Stevens, former legal columnist at The Wall Street Journal and Eric Effron, former executive editor of The Week and an editor/publisher of Legal Times.

Jim Smith, CEO of the Professional division of Thomson Reuters, is touting the site as a "new level of insight" that will help customers to "quickly draw connections between news, facts, the law and the work they do for clients every day."

Thomson Reuters bought West Publishing, which includes Westlaw, in 1996.