FindLaw |

Find a Lawyer. Find Answers.

The Association of Trial Lawyers of America Renews Contract with West LegalEdcenter

Date: August 16, 2004
Press Contact: Katie Neunsinger West LegalEdcenter (651) 848-9222 katie.neunsinger@thomson.com

EAGAN, Minn., August 16, 2004 ? The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) today announced that it has renewed a multi-year agreement to make its continuing legal education (CLE) programs available online exclusively at West LegalEdcenter® (www.westlegaledcenter.com), the nation's leading online CLE service from West. ATLA is part of a distinguished roster of CLE providers, including local, state and national bar associations, offering high-quality, innovative CLE courses to legal professionals via the Web through West LegalEdcenter.

The renewed contract ensures that ATLA's renowned CLE programming will be available online for at least the next three years. Topics include nursing home litigation, ethics, jury selection, expert testimony and ERISA, among others. The new agreement includes select webcasts of ATLA's monthly teleseminars, in addition to in-person programs.

"We have a strong relationship with West LegalEdcenter," said Margie A.S. Lehrman, senior vice president of Legal Knowledge and Professional Learning for ATLA. "This partnership has been instrumental in bringing ATLA's quality education programs to our members through convenient and affordable means. We are expanding our West LegalEdcenter offerings to include webcasting of selected telephone seminars and private access, members-only programs."

West LegalEdcenter partners include respected producers of CLE programming such as Practising Law Institute, American Law Institute-American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education (ALI-ABA), the Association of Corporate Counsel and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

"We have a long history of service to the trial bar and in particular to ATLA members," said Steve Daitch, vice president and general manager of West LegalEdcenter. "Providing information that meets attorneys' specific needs on their schedule is a cornerstone of West LegalEdcenter."

West LegalEdcenter includes unmatched innovative features such as links from course materials to Westlaw®, the leading online research service from West; customer service and technical support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and the most comprehensive law firm and corporate law department CLE Administrators Tool Kit to easily and seamlessly manage CLE attendance and usage.

About the Association of Trial Lawyers of America
ATLA is the world's largest trial bar association with over 60,000 members worldwide. ATLA works to preserve the constitutional right to trial by jury, promotes justice and fairness for injured individuals, and inspires quality in advocacy through training and education. ATLA also provides litigation resources and networking tools to help its members serve their clients with excellence. ATLA was founded in 1946. ATLA, headquartered in Washington, DC, is a broad-based, international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students. More information about ATLA can be found at www.atla.org.

About West LegalEdcenter
West LegalEdcenter (www.westlegaledcenter.com) is the online continuing legal education (CLE) service from West and the winner of the 2003 TechnoLawyer @ Award in the Favorite Online Continuing Legal Education Provider category. Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market. West is a business within The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and was formed when West Publishing and Thomson Legal Publishing merged in June 1996. For more information, please visit the West Web site at west.thomson.com.

About The Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2003 revenues from continuing operations of $7.44 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 38,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation?s common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).