Around them would exist a cluster of smaller more innovative companies that would provide complementary products to those offered by the two behemoths. In his view, competition between the two behemoths and with the growing number of smaller commercial and free services has lessened, if not eliminated, any negative competition issues that would result from such a realignment.

While the market is as Robert says, "clearly ripe for change", the realignment he suggests is not likely to happen. The current owners of these companies have lost faith in the prospect of legal information as a source of growth. If anything, they are likely to be seeking a means of easing out of legal publishing sector altogether. The best example of this is Lexis, which has shifted its energies to developing its Risk business (based on the Choicepoint acquisition), while the further development legal publishing business has been largely ignored.

Interestingly enough, in recent conversations, Robert has suggested the most likely option – a sell-off of legal information divisions of the two behemoths to new players in the market with fresh visions as to how to capitalize on the assets of the old time legal publishers. Robert pointed out that UK publishing businesses and assets are regularly transferred from one owner to another every decade or so, and that the legal publishing industry was overdue for major changes in ownership. It is as if the industry is sitting on the San Andreas fault waiting for the next earthquake.