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We have rebranded from Iqidis — meet Irys. A new identity for the future of legal work.

Irys vs Westlaw

You built your practice on Westlaw. But your practice has outgrown it.

Westlaw transformed legal research decades ago. But the modern legal workflow demands more than a research database with AI bolted on. Irys One is a unified platform where research, drafting, and matter management work together from the start.

Why lawyers are switching from Westlaw

Westlaw is a foundational tool in legal research, and for good reason. Its case law database is deep, its citation tools are well-understood, and entire generations of lawyers learned to practice with it. That history deserves respect.

But the economics and the workflow have shifted. Westlaw subscriptions typically run between $50,000 and $300,000 per year depending on firm size, and that spend only covers research. Drafting, collaboration, matter context, and workflow automation all live somewhere else. AI capabilities like CoCounsel exist, but they sit on top of a legacy architecture rather than being woven into the fabric of how work gets done.

For many firms, the question is no longer whether Westlaw is good at research. It is whether a research-only tool justifies its cost when a unified platform can cover research, drafting, and matter management together at a fraction of the price.

What to look for in a Westlaw alternative

Any serious alternative needs to match the rigor lawyers expect. That means citation verification you can trust, access to comprehensive case law and statutory authority, and the ability to trace legal reasoning across jurisdictions. If the research is not defensible, nothing else matters.

Beyond research, look for unlimited context windows that let you work with entire case files rather than truncated snippets. Integrated drafting means research flows directly into the document you are writing without switching tools. Transparent pricing means you know what you are paying before you sign, not after a sales process designed to anchor you to your current Westlaw spend.

Finally, look for a platform that treats matter context as a first-class concept. Your research should accumulate within the matter it belongs to, not disappear into a search history you will never revisit.

How Irys One compares

Irys One is built around the thesis that legal work should compound. Research, drafting, document intelligence, and matter context live in one platform, not scattered across a research database, a word processor, a document management system, and a collaboration tool.

The AI layer is not an add-on. It is the orchestration engine that connects everything: multi-agent architecture for complex research tasks, a knowledge graph engine that understands relationships between authorities, enhanced legal embeddings for semantic search, and concept-based processing that goes beyond keyword matching.

Pricing is transparent and published. There is no enterprise-only sales process, no per-search fees that punish thoroughness, and no requirement to bundle services you do not need. Every firm gets access to the same platform regardless of size.

Making the transition: common questions

Can I bring my existing research? Irys One is designed to work with your existing files and matter history. You can upload prior research memos, briefs, and work product so the platform understands your firm's precedent and reasoning patterns from day one.

How does citation coverage compare? Irys One provides comprehensive access to case law, statutes, and regulatory materials. The AI layer adds citation verification that checks authority status and flags potential issues, so you can be confident in what you cite.

What about my team's learning curve? Lawyers who have used any modern AI tool will find Irys intuitive. The platform is designed around natural legal workflows rather than requiring you to learn a new query language or adapt to a decades-old interface.

Start your 14-day free trial. No Westlaw subscription required. See how research, drafting, and matter management work better when they work together.

This comparison is based on publicly available information and Irys's current product positioning as of March 2026. Westlaw's offerings may evolve, and product fit will vary by workflow, practice area, deployment requirements, and team size.

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