Thomson Reuters is trying to corner the legal research market—and it’s coming at the cost of justice for millions. This is more than a business decision. It’s an attack on public access to the courts.

On April 1, 2025, Thomson Reuters, the owner of Westlaw, shut down Casetext—the only free, public legal database that allowed people to search federal and state case law online. This wasn’t just a shutdown. It was a corporate takeover designed to eliminate competition and consolidate control over legal research tools that are essential for navigating the courts.

With Casetext gone, Thomson Reuters now effectively controls access to legal information, forcing people to pay over $100 per month to use Westlaw. For the thousands of low-income and pro se litigants who relied on Casetext to prepare legal filings and defend their rights, this move is devastating. It cuts off their ability to access the law—and their ability to seek justice.

Casetext wasn’t just a tech tool. It was the only way many unrepresented litigants could do the basic legal research that courts expect. Its closure disproportionately harms those without attorneys, especially in civil rights, housing, disability, and due process cases.

“Thousands of unrepresented litigants…no longer have access to the case law they are expected to cite and follow,” wrote one pro se litigant in a letter to Chief Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California. “This limits our ability to pursue or defend legal claims and undermines the principle of equal access to the courts.”

What we’re asking:

We call on Congress and federal regulators to:

1. Investigate Thomson Reuters’ anti-competitive behavior in acquiring and shutting down Casetext.

2. Pressure Thomson Reuters to immediately restore Casetext or provide a free, public legal research platform of equal quality.

3. Support legislation or public investment in an open-access legal database that ensures all people—regardless of income—can access the law.

What you can do:

• Call your Congressperson and demand they take action against this monopolistic behavior.

• Sign this petition to show public support for restoring access to legal information.

• Share this message with legal aid organizations, public defenders, libraries, and advocacy groups in your community.

Without access to the law, there is no access to justice.

We cannot allow a private corporation to buy up a public resource, shut it down, and profit off exclusion. Join us in fighting back.