An Archive reader writes: While going through the mail today, I came across a large brochure advertising a trial version of Windows Office XP complete with a free Legal Productivity Pack and WestCiteLink 3.0. As you can guess, the ad is directed specifically toward the legal field.
An Archive reader writes:
While going through the mail today, I came across a large brochure advertising a trial version of Windows Office XP complete with a free Legal Productivity Pack and WestCiteLink 3.0. As you can guess, the ad is directed specifically toward the legal field.
What I found most interesting is that it showcased Office XP’s controversial Smart Tag feature first and heavily throughout the ad.
I work at a Mac-based law firm. As many that follow business trends know, especially Mac related trends, the legal profession is one area the Mac made inroads during the last three years. I believe the American Bar Association, or some other legal association, recently released a study that found 1 in 5 law firms use Macs.
Eventually, the public will grow weary of annual operating system and office suite upgrades. Microsoft has already begun to see shrinking profits with that business strategy and one day the R&D and advertising costs could surpass profits. Many analysts believe this is why Microsoft is rolling out Hailstorm (.Net) and the new subscriber-licensing format. Microsoft has to look for any place it can pick up market shares, and I doubt the legal profession is more immune than any other.
I hope Steve Jobs has some great news tomorrow to insure the Mac continues to prosper in the legal profession.
P.S. In fairness to Microsoft, the ad mainly promotes the Smart Tag’s ability to access West Group’s WestCiteLink 3.0 case recognition and citation feature. Therefore, the ad is not promoting the feature most attacked by many; mainly Smart Tags directing you to a Microsoft owned web site such as Carpoint.com. I do not believe Microsoft currently has any investments in West Group, which, as anybody in law knows, provides the vast majority of legal references to the legal community. But who knows? After all, Microsoft is always looking for new areas to dominate.
