In this interesting post, the Wired GC discusses the potential negative impact of Web 2.0 on high-cost legal research services such as Westlaw and Lexis/Nexis, and then passes along this anecdote that should give pause to the legal research vendors:

Then as I am about to leave my office last night and head home to complete this post, I opened a November 30, 2005 letter from an SVP of West. It was one of those customer-friendly letters you get these days. You know, the sort that starts out ìDear Westlaw Subscriberî and goes on to state:

ìTo help us continue upgrading the Westlaw content and functionality that helps you carry out top-quality research, we will be increasing rates for Westlaw usage by an average of six percent (6%) as of January 1, 2006.î

The price increase helps me? I set my 2006 budget months ago. For most technology-driven companies, upgrades typically lower costs for customers. No mention of any enhancements, either.
Memo to West: a form letter that slaps a long-term customer with a 30 day notice of a unilateral price increase is very much Law 1.0. Risking driving a customer away is rather ignoring Law 2.0.

Read the whole post.