Press Release Details

Being available to clients whenever and wherever necessary is crucial to legal professionals. To enable legal professionals to be more productive when on the go or in the courtroom, West, a Thomson business (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), announced that the company has joined the BlackBerry® ISV Alliance Program. The alliance solidifies West's commitment to providing easy, fast and full-featured access to Westlaw®, the legal profession's preferred and most powerful legal research service.

Westlaw Wireless™ was launched in 2000 and West's alliance with BlackBerry, developed by Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM), reflects a larger trend towards the increasing use of wireless communications in the legal profession. According to a recent American Bar Association technology survey, 42 percent of respondents now use handheld communication devices while away from the office, an indication that “mobile lawyering” is fast becoming a reality for many attorneys.

West saw the trend to wireless devices developing as early as 1999, notes Terry Dick, director of Marketing at West. “We began offering wireless access in 1999, and by 2000, we had formalized our Westlaw Wireless initiative and then expanded availability to BlackBerry and other popular handhelds,” he said. “Westlaw Wireless provides the information that legal professionals need to make sound, informed decisions, and puts it at their fingertips, no matter where they are.”

Using Westlaw Wireless is easy; it requires no additional software downloads and the service does not cost extra, beyond the user's Westlaw service plan. In addition to being available on BlackBerry, Westlaw Wireless is accessible from virtually any personal digital assistant (PDA) or laptop that has wireless Internet access, including Palm and Compaq. All BlackBerry users and users of Palm OS®-based and other handhelds need do is point their device's browser to wireless.westlaw.com.

Legal professionals appreciate the simplicity of using Westlaw Wireless. “On a PDA, it can be quite a challenge to navigate a Web site, especially when researching,” said Robert Olson, independent legal contractor affiliated with Don Hernandez Law Office in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. “The first time I logged on to Westlaw, it recognized I was coming from a wireless device and gave me a site configured for it, which made my navigation a lot easier and my research a lot quicker.”

Researchers using Westlaw Wireless simply enter their password and client ID just as they would any other session. Westlaw Wireless allows users to retrieve the full text of a document, giving legal professionals even more research power when they are traveling, away from the office or needing legal information while on the go. Researchers also can use a BlackBerry handheld or other handheld communication device to keep up-to-date on the status of a case or legislative action with KeyCite®est Alert Wireless, the mobile version of West's exclusive monitoring service.

Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market. West is a business within The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and was formed when West Publishing and Thomson Legal Publishing merged in June 1996. For more information, please visit the West Web site at west.thomson.com.

The Thomson Corporation

The Thomson Corporation ( www.thomson.com), with 2003 revenues from continuing operations of $7.44 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson has approximately 39,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

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Jason Stewart
Director, Public Relations
The Thomson Corporation
phone: +1 203 539 8339
jason.stewart@thomson.com

Frank Golden Vice President, Investor Relations
The Thomson Corporation
phone: +1 203 539 8470
fax: +1 203 539 7709
frank.golden@thomson.com