Last May, I wrote about the launch of Lexis Practice Advisor, a series of practice-specific modules intended to provide transactional lawyers with one-stop shopping for the information and tools they need for their practices. Today, LexisNexis will announce the addition of two more modules — one for Mergers & Acquisitions and another for Securities & Capital Markets — as well as the launch of Lexis Market Tracker, a companion tool to provide M&A lawyers with up-to-date intelligence about deals and trends in the M&A market.

Other modules already available cover Corporate Counsel, Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy, Business & Commercial, and California Business. As I explained in my earlier post, the purpose of these modules is to help attorneys:

  • Simplify the routine aspects of what they do, without requiring them to reinvent the wheel for every new matter.
  • Get up to speed quickly when dealing with new transaction types.
  • Provide starting points for drafting documents.

Last week, I was given a demonstration of these latest two modules. Because the modules all follow the same basic format, I encourage you to read my earlier review. Like the others, these two new modules offer a combination of forms, practice guidance, case law and legislative materials, secondary materials, and analysis of emerging issues. The practical guides are written by actual, in-the-trenches practitioners and the forms include annotations written by experts and practitioners in the field.

Drill Down through Topics

The Securities & Capital Markets module is organized according to top-level topics that include Private Offerings, IPOs, Secondary Offerings and Resales, Reporting and Registration Under the Exchange Act, Financial Disclosure Issues for Public Companies, and the like. From each of these top-level topics, you can drill down to more specific subtopics. Under IPOs, for example, you will find subtopics for Conducting and IPO, Drafting the Registration Statement, Conducting the Closing, and more.

The Securities module includes legal analysis, forms, cases  and codes. It also includes SEC administrative materials, such as no-action letters, as well as materials from FINRA and other regulatory bodies within the securities industry. It has Blue Sky Law coverage for all 50 states.

The M&A module is slightly different from the others in that, instead of being organized by topic, it is organized by type of deal. Thus, it has sections for Private Asset Acquisitions, Private Stock Acquisitions  Private Mergers, and Public Company Mergers & Acquisitions.

Lexis Market Tracker

Also unique to the M&A module is the inclusion of the new Lexis Market Tracker. This tool tracks over 1,000 recent M&A deals — all deals valued at $250 million or more back to 2010. Lawyers can use it to search, compare and analyze deals, negotiated terms, structures and provisions.

The tool allows a high degree of specificity in searching and monitoring. Search for all deals within a particular industry, all deals involving specific terms, or even all deals handled by a particular law firm. For the deals it covers, Market Tracker includes all the related documents. Search results, including specific provisions within a document, can be exported to Excel.

The cost for each of these new modules is $140 per seat per month. The M&A module includes Lexis Market Tracker within the subscription price.

Below are screenshots of the new modules. Click for larger images.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

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.