Oakland County panel approves five-year Westlaw contract extension for courts

The Oakland County Finance Committee approved a five‑year contract extension Tuesday with Thomson Reuters for the Westlaw legal‑research service used by the circuit and probate courts.

Deputy court business operations manager Miss Bujak told the committee the courts have been using Westlaw and that the product is effectively single source for some tools the courts rely on. "We did a one‑year extension. I'd like to because it really is a single source product. Nobody else can sell us this Westlaw research tool," Bujak said. She said a five‑year contract reduces the allowed annual vendor price increase compared with renewing year‑to‑year.

The measure was moved by Commissioner Smith Charles and supported by Commissioner Powell. The committee recorded seven votes in favor and zero nays; the motion carried.

Bujak said a multiyear agreement gives the courts more predictable costs and budget planning. She explained the county can face an 8% increase on year‑to‑year renewals, while a five‑year arrangement reduces the vendor's allowable annual increase (she described a sliding scale down to about 4% on a five‑year term). She also told the committee the courts have invested in staff training on Westlaw and use tools other products do not yet replicate.

Committee members asked whether alternative legal‑research products exist; Bujak said other tools have been tried but do not replicate one of the courts' specialized resources (she referenced a Michigan criminal procedure tool) and that some competitors are working on comparable features but do not yet offer them. She said there is an option to exit the contract at three years if the county found the product unsatisfactory.

Committee documents and Bujak's remarks described the procurement as a single‑source exception to competitive bidding because of the product's uniqueness for the courts. Implementation will be handled by the circuit and probate courts’ business operations team under the terms approved by the committee.

The committee did not reference any state statute or ordinance when granting the single‑source exception; the extension was processed as a department recommendation and approved by the Finance Committee.