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Libguides Free Online Legal Research Legal Research Guides

Bonisiwe Shabane
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libguides free online legal research legal research guides

Most law libraries provide online access to their research guides. Although they may contain information specific to the library's collections, these guides provide references to treatises, Web sources, major case law, legislation, and other relevant sources that can aid in one's research. If your legal research is state-specific, you may want to browse the list of online research guides of a handful of major law libraries in that state (see examples below). Another strategy for locating relevant legal research guides is to conduct a keyword search in your internet browser, using the terms "research," "guide" as well as the subject matter you are researching. For example: © The Regents of the University of California.

UCLA School of Law. All Rights Reserved. myAU | AU Library | myWCL | Library Home | myLEAGLE Library Account Library Home | Research Guides | LEAGLE Catalog | E-Journals & Articles | Library Databases | Frequently Used Resources | Ask a Librarian Welcome to the research guide for free and low-cost legal research. Our goal is to help you find accurate and useful legal information when you don't have access to the expensive "big three" legal databases: Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg Law.

We've divided the guide by type of legal document (legislative, judicial, administrative) with additional sections on secondary sources and materials for our local jurisdictions (the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia). This guide was last updated 28 January 2025. This guide discusses both free and low-cost options for legal research. The free resources are listed first, with the low-cost resources following. If a resource charges a fee, it will be noted in the description. These low-cost options are usually available through a subscription and are not pay-as-you-go or pay-per-use.

Here are the major free resources we cover in this guide: The following are important considerations to keep in mind when conducting research online. Primary Sources Primary materials are more likely to be available online than secondary materials. The U.S. federal government has especially made a point of trying to make official documents available online. It is also less expensive to publish electronically, so many governments are moving toward online-only government publication policy.

Secondary Sources Secondary sources are less likely to be online (for copyright, use, and cost issues). However, many law journals are now published in both print and electronic formats. Coverage Dates With the exception of archival projects, most legal information on the internet is available beginning in the mid-1990s. Citators There are no free citators for ensuring that a law is still good. This guide contains selected, free, online United States federal and state legal research materials. Many lawyers have access to paid databases.

Yet, combining paid and free resources, can help them to avoid potentially expensive searches. According to a 2020 Legal Technology Survey Report, nearly 60% of lawyers “say they regularly use free online resources to conduct legal research.” For researchers without access to paid databases, the following resources may be essential. Legal research is often more effective when using a local law library. To learn more about law libraries throughout the United States, visit: Statutes and legislative materials are becoming available freely online, with increasing frequency.

Free resources can be a great starting place for statutory research. However, always make sure you confirm your findings in an authoritative version of the law. Federal case law and court documents are often available freely online, particularly recently decided cases. Check the website of the deciding court for digital copies of their cases. In addition, the following resources provide free case law. The purpose of this research guide is to provide users with access to free legal resources located on the web.

The guide is organized by topic instead of by source, allowing users multiple access points to the same information. Below are just a couple of the websites that feature prominently in this research guide. Although there are many places one could find free legal information, the below sources seem to be the best balance of reliability, ease of use, and depth of information. Before diving into a research project, it's essential to have a strategy for how you will conduct your research. At the Law Library, we've developed a research worksheet that you can use to help organize the information you've been given and develop a plan for your research. Feel free to make copies and use it as you're given research assignments.

Major legal research databases can be prohibitively expensive. Fortunately, many free and low-cost resources for conducting legal research are available. This guide will help you locate them. We will mainly focus on resources for researching federal law and Washington State law. Some resources for researching the law in other states and countries are mentioned as well. Remember to evaluate every source that you consult to determine whether it is current, accurate, and authoritative.

This is particularly important when relying on free and low-cost resources. Fastcase is a low-cost legal research database. It was recently acquired by vLex. If you are a member of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), then you can access the vLex Fastcase database for free through your WSBA membership. For more information, see WSBA: vLex Fastcase. If you are an SU Law student, staff, or faculty member, you can access Fastcase and vLex for free using the links below.

You can access additional legal research databases, including Westlaw and CoCounsel, for free through the King County Law Library (see link below). Thurgood Marshall Law Library Guide to Legal Research. Thurgood Marshall Law Library Instructional Group. Online resource that walks the researcher through the process of doing legal research. How to Research a Legal Problem: A Guide for Non-Lawyers. American Association of Law Librarians.

This guide is intended to help a person with a legal problem find legal rules that can resolve or prevent conflict. Washington [State] Legal Research Guide. A guide covering the primary law and secondary sources necessary for conducting legal research in the state of Washington. Paul L. Boley Library, Lewis & Clark Law School. UW Gallagher Law Library Legal Resources for Members of the Public

University of Idaho College of Law - Legal Research Guides At some point in your legal career, you will need to do legal research without using Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg. You or your employer may not be able to afford those services, or you may have clients who will not pay for them. You may only have access to certain content from those services, but need information outside of your subscription. If you learn how to do legal research for free now, your future employers will thank you. The location of free online legal resources often varies by what type of resource you are looking for and what jurisdiction you need.

You will likely have to search in multiple places to find all of the pertinent information. Shepardizing cases is difficult without using Lexis or Westlaw. Free case law searches, such as Google Scholar, often have ways to at least look at other cases that have cited to the case you are trying to Shepardize, but this will not identify... The older the information that you need is, the harder it will be to find online. This is particularly true for federal materials prior to around 1995. Many free online resources are not official sources, and so may contain errors.

This guide is designed to present alternatives to fee-based research databases. In practice you may not have access to subscription databases or you may be working for a client that will not pay for research time and fees, but there are many free legal research... Consult this guide for links to free primary and secondary resources. If you have questions or need a resource recommendation, consult a law librarian. The reference librarians at the law library are available to assist with your research questions. Additionally, the Cook County Law Library on the 29th floor of the Daley Center (118 50 West Washington, Chicago) is open to the public and is staffed by knowledgeable law librarians.

Email: law.lawlibrary@cookcountyil.gov Phone: 312-603-5423 The key to being an effective researcher is to develop a plan. Regardless of whether you are using free or fee-based resources, your strategy should remain the same. If you don't know where to start or when to stop, consult this chart. For assistance with legal research questions, research strategies, print research, or legal databases questions, contact the UIC Law reference librarians via law-library@uic.edu or "Make an Appointment" via the online scheduler. Please book your appointment 48 business hours in advance.

Alternatively, you can stop by the reference desk for immediate help with a quick research question. Google-speed access to Supreme Court decisions from 1791 to present, other federal cases starting in 1923 and state court opinions since 1950. Results also include law journal articles and patents. This USA.gov webpage includes links to U.S. Government Departments and Agencies listed alphabetically. The first legal resource on the web, it contains a growing collection of federal statutes and case law, and Wex, an extensive legal dictionary and encyclopedia.

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