Legal Research Online

Where to Find Free Legal Research Online

Legal Information Institute (LII) – free legal research. Cornell University Law School

Google Scholar – free legal research (click on Case Law and then select Federal courts; your state Courts; or click on Select courts for a lot of courts). Search Google to find out how to use google scholar for legal research

CourtListener is a free legal database operated by the Free Law Project. Search millions of opinions by case name, topic, or citation including:

• U.S. Supreme Court Opinions – 1791 to the present
• U.S. Federal Appellate Court Opinions – the 1920s to the present for most circuits
• U.S. Federal District Court and Bankruptcy Court Opinions – coverage dependent on district
• U.S. State Supreme and Appellate Court Opinions – coverage dependent on state

Caselaw Access Project (CAP), maintained by the Harvard Law School Library Innovation Lab, includes, “all official, book-published United States case law — every volume designated as an official report of decisions by a court within the United States…[including] all state courts, federal courts, and territorial courts for American Samoa, Dakota Territory, Guam, Native American Courts, Navajo Nation, and the Northern Mariana Islands.”

Judicata – currently serving California state law only, online legal research that claims it will outperform Westlaw and Lexis. Review of Judicata on its first day.

Statutes for all States– Legal Information Institute Cornell Law School

Municipal Codes in Various States

List of Law Libraries Virtual Chase ® – A Research Site for Legal Professionals

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure – Cornell Law School

Federal Rules of Evidence – Cornell Law School

Federal Rules – Cornell Law School

Code of Federal Regulations – Cornell Law School

Federal Cases & Code/Fed Regulations at Justia

Federal Rulemaking – the federal judiciary’s website on the federal rules of practice, procedure, and evidence. 

Administrative Codes and Registers – organized by state, to bulletins, journals, registers, and codes.

List of law reviews and journals.

Is a Case Still Good Law?

How to check if a case is still good law using Google Scholar

How to check if a case is still good law

How to Cite Legal Opinions, Constitutional and Statutory Provisions, and Gov. Agency Materials

Basic Legal Citation – by Peter W. Martin, Cornell Law School.

Legal Research Online For a Fee

NationalLawLibrary – Affordable legal research where you can pay by the search, as little as $3.

LoisLaw – Online legal research where you can pay for periods as short as one day.

TheLaw.net – Online legal research starting at $575/year.

ROSS Intelligence is a legal research platform powered by artificial intelligence for U.S. law.

WestlawNext – the most expensive choice for online legal research. This is the online legal research that is used by the personal injury lawyers in New York at 1-800-HURT-911®.

Casetext – claims to be a legal replacement for Lexis and Westlaw for only $65 per month (Free trial for 14 days). Post commentary on Casetext to reach over 300,000 monthly users and an online community of thousands of lawyers who have already shown interest in your areas of expertise. Search millions of cases and statutes annotated by the legal community, and get updates with the best new legal commentary relevant to you. 

Biographical and Background Information on Judges and Courts

Biographical Data on Federal Judges – Find biographical information on judges of U.S. District Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court, going back to 1789.

Lex Machina – Legal analytics to analyze courts and judges

Ravel – Attorneys rely on Ravel to uncover on-point cases, needles in the haystack, and insights about judges.’

Jury Verdicts

How much is your case worth? Find a Jury Verdict Reporter for your state at NASJVP The National Association of State Jury Verdict Publishers.

Verdict Search.com – National Law Journal

What is my personal injury case worth?

The Truth About Jury Verdicts and Real & Phony Law Suits

Other Legal Research Resources

Statutes of Limitations For All States – scroll down to the bottom of the page for a chart.

Wrongful Death Caps For All States

Social Security Disability Law – information on cases including news, regulations, forms, and guides to specific disabilities.

Is your state a No-Fault state

Insurance and Risk Management Terms glossary

Rupp’s Insurance Glossary (2nd Edition) – Rupp’s Insurance & Risk Management Glossary is the insurance industry’s authoritative standard and a must for every insurance, business, and legal library.

Justice.org Exchange – For members only. The Exchange provides services critical to trial practice, including:

• A network of colleagues ready to share knowledge and experience.
• Access to other members’ successful complaints, memos, briefs, depositions, and other documents (many of which are often unpublished and unavailable from any other source), giving members a starting point for case acceptance and/or trial preparation.
• Timely “hot topic” information and awareness of areas for practice and client development.

TrialSmith – The world’s largest online deposition bank exclusively for plaintiff lawyers.

Medical & Legal Briefs – at the Chemical Injury Information Network

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws – information on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, including the full text of all uniform laws and their current legislative status.

Legal Research Done For You

NLRG National Legal Research Group – Their attorneys will do the legal research and can also prepare the legal documents for you.