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Summer Associates Gain Competitive Advantage with New Training Initiative from West LegalEdcenter

Date: May 13, 2005
Press Contact: Samantha Hetzel West LegalEdcenter (651) 848-7576 samantha.hetzel@thomson.com

Eagan, Minn., May 12, 2005 – To succeed, summer associates need training and development that supports their career as legal professionals. At Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, the new Summer Associates Readiness Program from West LegalEdcenter^® is providing this opportunity for the law firm’s 105 summer associates at a pivotal point in their career. West LegalEdcenter is the nation’s leading online continuing legal education (CLE) service from Thomson West, which is part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

“At Akin Gump, we take a proactive approach to ensure that our summer associates succeed; this partnership provides us with another vehicle to provide this training and development,” said Kathryn L. Nash, firmwide attorney development coordinator of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. “The Summer Associates Readiness Program enhances our summer associate offerings, providing a supplement to our in-house live courses for just-in-time training.”

West LegalEdcenter is providing a customized Summer Associate Readiness Program for all of the firm’s 105 summer associates. The Readiness program includes

·          four hours of online content created specifically for the program by Richard D. Lee, Kimm Alayne Walton and Ross Guberman, three of the nation’s leading law firm associate trainers;

·          access to more than 75 supplemental on-demand programs; and

·          a carefully selected library containing seven books on the critical skills that all summer associates need.

“Based on two years of research with law firms, law students and new associates, we designed the Summer Associate Readiness Program specifically to help firms and law students excel during the critical summer associate period,” said Steven P. Daitch, general manager of West LegalEdcenter. “We’ve also reacted to the perceptible movement in global law firms toward lifetime learning – Akin Gump is at the forefront of this movement.”

“Effective training is critical to developing the talent of our attorneys and continuing the vitality of our firm. To ensure this, we have established a comprehensive attorney development program that focuses on project assignments, formal training, and career growth and feedback,” said JeanMarie Campbell, firmwide director of attorney development of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. “The Summer Associates Readiness Program is just one more iteration of our promise to recruit and retain the best legal professionals in the industry.”

West LegalEdcenter is the leading provider of online CLE, paralegal, business and professional skills programs to the legal marketplace. Through its 90 national, state and local content partnerships, West LegalEdcenter offers access to the broadest library of fully accredited online CLE programs covering more than 40 practice areas. Services include unmatched innovative features, such as links from course materials to Westlaw^®, the leading online research service from Thomson 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, including comprehensive tracking of MCLE requirements and compliance for individual attorneys.

About Thomson West

Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., Thomson West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market. Thomson 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 Thomson West Web site at west.thomson.com.

The Thomson Corporation

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues of $8.10 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 e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 40,000 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).