Can a law firm charge me for Westlaw fees?

Charging clients for computerized research databases, such as Westlaw and LexisNexis is against both legal standards and generally accepted commercial standards. Courts typically view such expenses as overhead expenses that should be absorbed by the law firm and not pushed to the client. Further, most companies specify in their billing guidelines that they will not reimburse Westlaw or LexisNexis charges or other computerized research. Time spent researching is chargeable, but usually not the expense of the legal research platforms (unless there has been an agreed upon arrangement between the law firm and the client stating otherwise).