In June 1996, The Thomson Corporation, a leading provider of integrated information solutions to business and professional markets worldwide, brought together the venerable businesses that composed Thomson Legal Publishing with the well-known and highly respected West Publishing Co. This merger resulted in the formation of West, the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market.

Today West includes such respected names as Westlaw®, Foundation Press®, The Rutter Group and FindLaw. West launched its first online service in 1975 and remains a leader in the information technology revolution.

A Brief History of the Thomson Corporation (interactive presentation)

Many of the businesses and brands that compose West have long and distinguished histories.

Banks-Baldwin
In 1804, David Banks organized Banks Law Publishing Co., the earliest forbearer of West and the oldest law publishing company in America today. Originally called Gould and Banks, the firm was based in New York City with offices on Wall Street. In 1913, William Edward Baldwin established Baldwin Law Book Company of Kentucky in Louisville. While continuing to operate his Kentucky company, Baldwin moved to Cleveland in 1919 and established Baldwin Law Publishing Co. of Ohio. In 1924, he moved to New York City where he served as president of the Banks Law Book Co. for two years, after which he purchased the company. In 1933, he consolidated the three companies under the combined name Banks-Baldwin Law Publishing Co. Banks-Baldwin was acquired by West Publishing in 1993.

Bancroft-Whitney
H.H. Bancroft Co. was founded in 1856 by Hubert Howe Bancroft and George L. Kenney. Bancroft began publishing law books in San Francisco in 1857 and was joined by Sumner Whitney, another law publishing firm, in 1886. Bancroft-Whitney became a subsidiary of Lawyers Cooperative Publishing in 1919. Among the notable events in the history of Bancroft-Whitney was the destruction of its building in the fire that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Having lost all of its records, the company appealed to its customers to provide information on outstanding bills. The continued existence of the company is testimony that the vast majority of firms complied.

Callaghan Clark Boardman
Bernard Callaghan founded Chicago-based Callaghan & Company in Chicago in 1864, and his large and well-known downtown bookstore was advertised as "Callahan's Three Miles of Law Books." The Clark Boardman Company was established in 1916 in New York City and Rochester, New York, by Perley Clark Boardman, Alvin P. Weisker and Edward S. Mersedrew, three law book salespeople from Lawyers Cooperative Publishing. The Thomson Corporation acquired Callaghan in 1979 and Clark Boardman in 1980. These companies were merged in 1991.

West Publishing
West Publishing was founded by John B. West and his brother Horatio in 1872 in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1882, with Charles W. Ames and Peyton Boyle, the West brothers incorporated the company. West Publishing's first product was The Syllabi, a weekly record of excerpts from Minnesota courts. Between 1876 and 1887, this publication was expanded into the National Reporter System. John B. West was the first salesperson for the company and the first full-time law book salesperson in Minnesota, traveling throughout the upper Midwest by train, horse-drawn carriage and sleigh. A century later in 1975, West Publishing launched its first computer-assisted legal research service, Westlaw. West Publishing moved its headquarters to Eagan, Minnesota, in 1992.

Lawyers Cooperative Publishing
Lawyers Cooperative Publishing (LCP) was founded in 1882 in Newark, New York, by attorneys James E. Briggs, James' son William Briggs and Ernest Hitchcock. The company moved to Rochester, New York, in 1885. The Thomson Corporation purchased LCP in 1989, and it became the flagship of the Thomson Legal Publishing Group, which specialized in analytical legal research materials.

Foundation Press
Foundation Press was established by Loren R. Darr and Edmund Morgan in the 1930s as a publisher of law school textbooks. It was acquired by West Publishing in 1940.

The Rutter Group
Founded in 1979 by William A. Rutter and Linda Diamond Raznick, The Rutter Group began its legal publishing efforts with the California Practice Guide and is also known as one of the premier providers of continuing legal education. It affiliated with West Publishing in 1994.

FindLaw
FindLaw began in 1995 as a list of Internet resources compiled by engineer and attorney Timothy Stanley and attorney Stacy Stern for a workshop held by the Northern California Law Librarians. Response to the material was so positive that the team decided to post it on the Web, allowing others to use these resources. In January 1996, FindLaw was launched, and it continues to grow in scope as well as popularity. In 2001, West acquired FindLaw, which has become the leader in free online legal information and services, and the highest-trafficked legal Web site.