West has had a long-standing commitment to accommodating the
needs of our customers with disabilities. Our dedication to
accessibility began as early as 1990 with the creation of
special Braille and audiotape documentation for our customers
with visual impairments and with our work with voice recognition
software customized for the legal profession. Since our initial
involvement with accessibility issues, we have continued our
dedication to improving the accessibility of our products and
services and creating new and better products that everyone can
use.
Our efforts to accommodate the needs of our customers with disabilities and to promote the accessibility of our products and services include the following:
Development and Design Efforts
West electronic and information technology (EIT) products
and services are undergoing review and redesign, as
necessary and appropriate, to address the requirements of
Section 508. West's products and services are designed to
comply with the accessibility standards to the maximum
extent practicable.
West continues its efforts to make its products accessible.
Recently, West launched Westlaw Text Only text-only
interface that optimizes Westlaw accessibility for our
customers with visual or mobility impairments. Westlaw Text
Only provides a single-frame Westlaw platform that improves
performance with assistive technologies such as screen
readers, screen magnifiers, and voice recognition software,
enabling all legal professionals access to the industry's
highest-quality legal information and resources. For more
information, visit
west.thomson.com/westlaw/textonly.
West has more than 350 customer support representatives who are
dedicated to providing our customers with a variety of support services,
including customer and technical support, reference attorney support,
and telephone training. To accommodate the needs of our customers with
disabilities, West provides the following multitiered support system:
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Customer support representatives have basic knowledge and training
about the needs of customers with disabilities, as well as the
accessibility of West products and services
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Several of our customer support representatives have specialized
training and experience with voice recognition software,
screen-reading software, and other assistive technologies
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Specific questions (technical/training/reference attorney) that
cannot be answered by our front-line customer support staff are
referred to a higher tier of support, which may require a callback
from another support representative later that day or the next
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Higher-tier support representatives have additional knowledge and
training about the needs of customers with disabilities, as well as
additional expertise regarding the accessibility of West products
and services
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Customers with disabilities can contact West via telephone and email
in order to schedule special training and obtain other types of
support:
To maintain a service environment that sets the industry
standard of excellence and world-class customer service, West's customer
support representatives receive extensive, ongoing training in all West
products and services, as well as marketplace technology trends, and are
capable of supporting West products in a variety of hardware, network,
and software environments. Furthermore, every customer service
representative is dedicated to the goals of customer advocacy and
product improvement.
To accommodate the individual training needs of each customer, West
provides training on-site, at West Information Centers, and via
telephone. In addition, West takes the following steps to accommodate
the special training needs of its customers with disabilities:
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Visual Impairments. West's Telephone Training staff is knowledgeable in the appropriate assistive technology and is equipped with screen-reading software (e.g., JAWS, Window-Eyes), so they can provide individualized, customized training on an ongoing basis. In addition, many of our trainers in the field (Westlaw account managers) have experience training users with visual disabilities using screen-reading software and Braille terminals. Upon request, West can also provide large external monitors at its Information Centers to help trainees who have difficulty reading text on a standard monitor.
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Hearing Impairments. To assist users with hearing disabilities, West can provide interpreters at its Information Centers (at no cost), provided the request for an interpreter is made in advance of the training session. If necessary, West can provide an interpreter for on-site training as well. Additionally, some Westlaw account managers are fluent in sign language.
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Mobility Impairments. Westlaw is compatible with many commercially available voice recognition software programs (e.g., Dragon). West Information Centers are all designed to be accessible, consistent with the goals of the ADA, which means that West can accommodate trainees with disabilities in its training rooms.
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Upon request, West can make additional reasonable accommodations to train its customers with disabilities.
West provides product support documentation in a variety of formats, including
electronic (Microsoft Word), Braille, large print, audiotape, and documentation on the
Web. Not all documentation is available in all formats, but West will try to
accommodate reasonable requests. All documentation will be provided to customers at no
charge.
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Electronic Format. Upon request, West can make documentation available in electronic format (Microsoft Word). Delivery time for these special-order materials is two to three weeks, depending upon the length of the piece. These documents can be sent to the customer via email or disc. Customers will have the ability to change the font and convert the documents into large-print documents.
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Braille Documentation. West has Braille documentation available for select products that can be ordered from West Customer & Technical Services at no charge. Upon request, other West documentation can be special-ordered in Braille format. Delivery time for these special-order materials is a minimum of two weeks, depending upon the length of the piece.
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Large-Print Documentation. Most West documentation pieces are also available in large-print format. These are produced individually as requested (not available for large manuals or directories).
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Audiotapes. Select West documentation materials are available in audiotape format. Upon request, West can special-order other materials in audiotape format.
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Documentation on the Web. Technical and Customer Support representatives regularly guide customers with visual impairments to the West Reference Materials Catalog store for downloading product materials for use with screen-reading software. Customers can download and/or order free West product documentation directly from west.thomson.com
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In addition, West can accommodate special requests for documentation for customers with disabilities within reasonable limits. West works with a number of vendors (e.g., National Braille Press, Inc.) and organizations, (e.g., Minnesota Services for the Blind) throughout the country in order to accommodate special documentation requests.
West has a long-standing history of collaborating with customers across all areas of the legal profession. To help provide information and technology solutions that meet the special needs of visually impaired customers, West has developed strong relationships with a number of organizations including the American Blind Lawyers Association (ABLA) and the American Council for the Blind.
In addition to these relationships, West has actively sought input on accessibility issues and feedback on West products and services from customers with disabilities. To test and enhance the accessibility of our products and services, West works closely with consultants with disabilities who are experts on accessibility issues related to electronic and information technology
With the establishment of the accessibility standards under Section 508, West has consulted with government, advocacy groups, industry organizations, and assistive-technology companies on accessibility compliance-related issues
West welcomes comments and feedback from all customers on how to improve the accessibility of our products and services. Please contact us at
west.accessibilityteam@thomson.com.