LexisNexis Launches Evidence Challenge, Integrates with eBooks

LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a leading provider of content and technology solutions, today announced it has launched an interactive, role-playing feature within selected eBooks called Evidence Challenge that helps second and third year law students sharpen their knowledge of evidence law. It is now accessible within 16 evidence-focused course books and study aid titles from LexisNexis, as well as a stand-alone study aid usable on any mobile device or computer at www.EvidenceChallenge.com.

Evidence Challenge is an example of the growing trend in legal eBooks of linked interactive capabilities to augment and supplement the core text of a title as publishers seek to meet customer demand for more utility and benefit from electronic titles.

“By building in useful links and integrating relevant learning resources, legal eBooks offer a contextualized and easy-to-use platform to learn about a topic or area of practice – turning a passive reader into an active learner,” said Susan Slisz, vice president at LexisNexis. “The new Evidence Challenge feature is a wonderful example of this for law students, and more broadly it’s emblematic of the trend of interactivity we see evolving with legal eBooks.”

Powered by the award-winningLexis Advance® online legal research solution, Evidence Challenge gives users the opportunity to repeatedly practice the application of evidentiary rules and concepts while preparing for exams. Users access Evidence Challenge from links embedded within the eBook they have obtained. Following creation of a profile, opportunities to participate in Evidence Challenge appear throughout the volume with exercises focused on issues covered in the given chapter.

For each of 30 “problems” in Evidence Challenge, the user is taken to a virtual courtroom where he or she chooses to be the defense attorney or plaintiff counsel/prosecutor. The user is prompted to assess evidence and respond to questions at various decision points in a realistic courtroom scenario – each with an opportunity to earn points and with seamless access to Lexis Advance® for those with a valid ID for the solution. At the conclusion of a problem, users visit a dashboard where they review their results to see how well they answered each question within the problem and how they are performing relative to others.

“eBooks are evolving to offer the reader much more utility, portability and cost containment than traditional print titles,” said Slisz. “We’ve added direct access to research and learning capabilities now, and going forward we look forward to expanding interactivity by offering access to video, audio and other elements within eBooks available through LexisNexis.”

LexisNexis is the largest publisher of legal eBooks with more than 2,200 device-agnostic titles available through a diversity of channels including the LexisNexis® Store and a number of name-brand online bookstores. The launch of Evidence Challenge is the latest in an ongoing series of eBook innovations initiated by LexisNexis. In November, the company announced two new offerings specifically for law students and law school professors. Earlier in 2013, LexisNexis enabled links between LexisNexis eBooks text to Lexis Advance for customers with a subscription to the legal research solution - creating a seamless transition from general information contained in an eBook title to in depth research on specific documents, issues, case law or related analytical content contained in Lexis Advance.

Additionally, LexisNexis offers LexisNexis Digital Library – created in conjunction with leading eBook distributor OverDrive® and launched in 2012. LexisNexis Digital Library offers law librarians a single location to order titles, supervise lending of all electronic content and centrally manage their library to help reduce costs associated with storing, filing and distributing titles in traditional print format.

Professionals across each major sector of the legal marketplace use LexisNexis Digital Library, including those in large law firms, small law firms, corporations, government and law schools. In addition to eBooks from LexisNexis, customers using LexisNexis Digital Library also have access to more than 800,000 titles from other publishers via the OverDrive® Marketplace. This is a critical capability for librarians because it enables them to aggregate all of their content in one platform instead of having different access points for titles from different sources.

About LexisNexis® Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-profit organizations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content, to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organizations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. Part of Reed Elsevier, LexisNexis Legal & Professional serves customers in more than 100 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide.