This should be interesting: Lou Andreozzi, the former president and CEO of LexisNexis North American Legal Markets, has been named chairman of Bloomberg Law, the company announced this morning. Also, Larry D. Thompson, the former VP of business development, strategy and marketing and global chief marketing officer for LexisNexis, has joined Bloomberg Law as COO.

Bloomberg Law is the legal research service launched last December by the financial news company Bloomberg. Unlike other recent legal-research start-ups that focus primarily on cases and statutes, Bloomberg set out to be a full-fledged research service on a level to rival Westlaw and LexisNexis. (See my earlier review of it: Bloomberg Law: Can it be a Contender?)

Needless to say, Bloomberg’s recruitment of these two former top Lexis executives should spice up the competition, at least. According to today’s announcement, Andreozzi’s role will be to provide strategic leadership for Bloomberg “aimed at driving the platform’s expansion in the legal research industry.”

Thompson will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Bloomberg Law, the announcement said.

Andreozzi was at Lexis for 10 years, first as general counsel and then CEO. Thompson was at Lexis for 12 years and has worked as a legal-publishing executive for more than 25 years.

The Bloomberg executive who oversaw the launch of its legal research platform, Constantin Cotzias, is returning to Bloomberg Europe’s London office, where he formerly worked, to become head of government and regulatory affairs.

[Update: Monica Bay talks to Andreozzi.]

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Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.