Nobel Prize in Economics Awarded to Creator of Westlaw Random Pricing

The Nobel Prize in economics has reportedly been awarded to Gary Carruthers, the creator of the complex economic formula that is used to price Westlaw products, a Swedish legal publication is reporting.

Carruthers’s formula has been used by Westlaw since 1965 and, as company representatives describe it, “is one of the finest economic randomization formulas being used today. It’s also so complex that no one other than a few of us here at Westlaw understand it.”

According to Inte Allvarlig, a Swedish legal publication, the Nobel Prize committee was impressed by the complexity of the formula as well as the considerable length of time it has been used in practice, predominantly for pricing products for attorneys. According to Westlaw, it has been using its secret random pricing formula continuously since 1967, though “we tweaked it a bit when we released WestlawNext. Not much, mind you, but just enough.”