# Practical Law

Here is a structured, business-oriented explanation of **Practical Law** from *Thomson Reuters* based on the latest available product information:

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### **1. What Practical Law Is**

**Practical Law** is a **legal know-how and practice support platform** designed to help attorneys and legal professionals complete complex legal work more efficiently and with greater confidence. It provides *expert-written guidance, templates, checklists, practice notes, tools, and automated document resources* that translate legal principles and practice standards into *actionable legal workflows and outputs*. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

Practical Law is maintained by a **global team of hundreds of experienced attorney-editors** who create and update content daily to ensure it remains current, accurate, and aligned with real-world practice. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

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### **2. Core Capabilities and Features**

#### **Expert Legal Know-How and Guidance**

Practical Law provides *how-to guides,* *plain-language practice notes,* and explanatory content that help legal professionals understand what the law *means* in practical terms and how to apply it in their jurisdiction and practice area. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/features?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **Standard Documents and Clauses**

The platform includes *ready-to-use templates, sample agreements, and standard clauses* with drafting annotations and negotiation tips — reducing the need to draft foundational contracts from scratch. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/features?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **Checklists and Workflow Tools**

Practical Law offers structured *checklists,* *matter maps,* and interactive tools that break down complex legal tasks into sequenced steps and decision points. This helps professionals ensure they address relevant issues methodically. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/features?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **Automated Documents**

Users can generate customized documents by working through guided questionnaires, which then output tailored legal documents ready for editing and use. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/features?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **State and Jurisdictional Q\&A**

Practical Law includes *State Q\&A* and comparative resources that summarize law variations across states or jurisdictions for specific legal issues — a major time-saver for multi-jurisdictional practice. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/features?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **“What’s Market” Analytics**

This feature helps legal professionals *search, compare, and analyze deal terms, market data, and public filings* across transactions to inform client advice and drafting strategy. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/features?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **AI-Enhanced Search & Summarization**

Practical Law now incorporates *generative AI capabilities* (e.g., *Search & Summarize Practical Law*) that allow users to query the corpus in natural language and receive concise, relevant answers aggregating the best sources. ([Thomson Reuters Canada](https://www.thomsonreuters.ca/en/products/practical-law-canada/features.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

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### **3. Primary Use Cases**

Practical Law is used by:

* **Law firms** (from boutique to large multinational) to accelerate drafting, ensure consistency, and reduce research time. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
* **Corporate legal departments** to standardize contract language, stay current on regulatory developments, and perform quick comparative legal analysis. ([ca.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com](https://ca.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
* **Government legal teams** who must apply legal principles across diverse practice areas accurately and consistently. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law/government?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

Typical use cases include drafting and reviewing contracts, performing practice-oriented research, preparing client memoranda, ensuring compliance with process steps, and getting up to speed quickly on unfamiliar legal issues. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

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### **4. Value Proposition**

#### **Time Savings and Efficiency**

By providing *practical, ready-to-use resources* and structured workflows, Practical Law significantly reduces time spent on drafting, planning, and research tasks. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **Accuracy and Reliability**

Content is developed and maintained by *hundreds of experienced attorney-editors* to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with current law and practice. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **Practice-Ready Guidance**

Rather than merely presenting primary law, Practical Law focuses on *practical application* — including checklists, sequences of tasks, drafting tips, and contextual explanations — to support decision-making under real deadlines. ([thomsonreuters.com.au](https://www.thomsonreuters.com.au/en-au/products/practical-law.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

#### **Integration with Tools**

Practical Law can be combined with other Thomson Reuters solutions (for example, CoCounsel AI skills or Westlaw research) to create a more comprehensive legal workflow environment. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

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### **5. Content and Maintenance**

Practical Law’s resources are continually updated to reflect changes in legislation, case law, market practice, and regulatory developments. Editorial maintenance, quality review, and updates are ongoing to keep the tools relevant for daily practice. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

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### **Summary**

*Practical Law* is a comprehensive legal know-how platform that provides actionable guidance, templates, checklists, and analytical tools tailored to everyday legal tasks. It enhances productivity, standardizes outputs across practice areas, and supports efficient, confident legal decision-making by grounding practical work in trusted legal expertise and structured legal intelligence. ([Thomson Reuters Legal](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/practical-law?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

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