ParrisWhittaker is a law firm based in the Bahamas with affiliate offices in Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands. The firm covers a wide range of practice areas, from commercial and IP to family and matrimonial, but with particular expertise in litigation work and maritime law.
A digital alternative to a law library for a fraction of the cost
Jacy Whittaker is a founder and partner of ParrisWhittaker, with over 20 years of legal experience. He acts as local counsel for a handful of Fortune 500 companies, specialising in litigation matters, including maritime and commercial disputes, asset tracing and enforcement of foreign judgments.
When starting up ParrisWhittaker, Jacy found that a subscription to Lexis+ Legal Research provided a substantial column of support, as a substitute to a physical law library which he had been accustomed to in his previous firm. In particular, access to the Bahamas Law Reports was a fundamental deciding factor in opting to go with LexisNexis.
A tried and tested time saver
Jacy had been aware of the benefits of access to LexisNexis from his time at law school. He has always found the resources helpful in narrowing down legal research and quickly getting to grips with the main points of a case, saving time in the process. When applied to running a legal practice, time saved translates to increased efficiency and better profit margins.
“I would say that the amount of time I take to draft a good, comprehensive submission has been cut down by at least 60 to 70%. Having all these sources, commentary and journals at my fingertips is brilliant.”
“I’m able to do more in the day, which means I’m providing more value to my clients - and it’s helped my margins in terms of how much I can bill. LexisNexis is helping me make money.”
Research tools at your fingertips
Jacy prefers to conduct his legal research at night, exploring sources and reading about cases when most physical libraries are closed. Lexis+ enables him to prepare his cases at a time which suits him - and the history feature allows him to save articles that have piqued his interest into a relevant folder for 30 days.
“It means I can gather my thoughts, do my research at night – when I prefer to – so in the morning I can hit the ground running with drafting. I know by then exactly what points I’m going to raise out of the case.”
Levelling the playing field
Access to Lexis+ can enable a small practice to punch above its weight, granting the ability to conduct fast and accurate research in the face of firms with much greater resources. This anecdote from Jacy demonstrates the benefits of powerful Legal Research search functions:
“I was representing a bank out of the United States and they were enforcing a judgment in the Bahamas. The structure of the Bahamian entity was set up in a way that would make enforcement of any foreign judgments very hard.”
“Using LexisNexis, I was able to learn more about charging orders and their effects on assets in the Caribbean. I actually found a case in LexisNexis from the early 80s that I couldn’t find anywhere else. This research was critical in helping me to achieve a successful outcome for my client.”
Overall, the agility of new firms to harness digital resources, such as those provided by LexisNexis, can provide them with an advantage compared to some of their larger but more traditional counterparts.
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