Legal Resources
Online Legal Research
Alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw
Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals
LLRX.com is a free, independent, one person produced Web journal dedicated to providing legal, library, IT, CI, marketing, communications and administrative professionals with the most up-to-date information on a wide range of Internet research and technology-related issues, applications, resources and tools. This site has more than 100,000 readers each month, LLRX is now in its 16th year of continuous publication, as a solo, independent, free online journal with a global readership.
http://www.llrx.com/extras/versuslaw.htm
Google Scholar
Blog about obtaining legal information using Google Scholar
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/finding-laws-that-govern-us.html
Freedom to Tinker article about RECAP
RECAP is a plug-in for the Firefox web browser that makes it easier for users to share documents they have purchased from PACER, the court’s pay-to-play access system. With the plug-in installed, users still have to pay each time they use PACER, but whenever they do retrieve a PACER document, RECAP automatically and effortlessly donates a copy of that document to a public repository hosted at the Internet Archive. The documents in this repository are, in turn, shared with other RECAP users, who will be notified whenever documents they are looking for can be downloaded from the free public repository. RECAP helps users exercise their rights under copyright law, which expressly places government works in the public domain. It also helps users advance the public good by contributing to an extensive and freely available archive of public court documents. The project’s website, https://www.recapthelaw.org, has all of the details– how to install RECAP, a screencast of the plug-in in action, more discussion of why this issue matters, and a host of other goodies.
The repository already has over one million documents available for free download. Together, with the help of RECAP users, we can recapture truly public access to the court proceedings that give our laws their practical meaning.
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/harlanyu/introducing-recap-turning-pacer-around
NOLO
NOLOS's mission is to help consumers and small businesses find answers to their everyday legal and business questions. They have a helpful free legal encylcopedia with many topics.
http://www.nolo.com/
THOMAS
Legislative information from the Library of Congress. THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed below.
http://www.thomas.gov/
U.S. Goverment Printing Office - Federal Digital System
GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Through FDsys, you are able to:
*Search for documents and publications -- FDsys provides advanced search capabilities and the ability to refine and narrow your search for quick access to the information you need.
*Browse for documents and publications — FDsys offers browsing by collection, Congressional committee, date, and Government author.
*Access metadata about documents and publications -- FDsys provides information about Government publications in standard XML formats.
*Download documents and publications in multiple renditions or file formats -- With FDsys, users can download a single file or download content and metadata packaged together in a compressed file.
FDsys is: A Content Management System
FDsys provides free online access to official Federal Government publications and securely controls digital content throughout its lifecycle to ensure content integrity and authenticity.
A Preservation Repository
The repository guarantees long-term preservation and access to digital Government content. To meet this critical need for permanent access to Federal Government information, FDsys follows archival system standards.
An Advanced Search Engine
FDsys combines modern search technology with extensive metadata creation to ensure the highest quality search experience.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
Cornell University's Legal Information Institute
Wex is a free legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School. Wex entries are collaboratively created and edited by legal experts. More information about Wex can be found in the Wex FAQ.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/
PACER - Public Access to Court Electronic Records
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator via the Internet. PACER is provided by the federal Judiciary in keeping with its commitment to providing public access to court information via a centralized service.
http://www.pacer.gov/
Alternatives to Lexis and Westlaw
Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals
LLRX.com is a free, independent, one person produced Web journal dedicated to providing legal, library, IT, CI, marketing, communications and administrative professionals with the most up-to-date information on a wide range of Internet research and technology-related issues, applications, resources and tools. This site has more than 100,000 readers each month, LLRX is now in its 16th year of continuous publication, as a solo, independent, free online journal with a global readership.
http://www.llrx.com/extras/versuslaw.htm
Google Scholar
Blog about obtaining legal information using Google Scholar
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/finding-laws-that-govern-us.html
Freedom to Tinker article about RECAP
RECAP is a plug-in for the Firefox web browser that makes it easier for users to share documents they have purchased from PACER, the court’s pay-to-play access system. With the plug-in installed, users still have to pay each time they use PACER, but whenever they do retrieve a PACER document, RECAP automatically and effortlessly donates a copy of that document to a public repository hosted at the Internet Archive. The documents in this repository are, in turn, shared with other RECAP users, who will be notified whenever documents they are looking for can be downloaded from the free public repository. RECAP helps users exercise their rights under copyright law, which expressly places government works in the public domain. It also helps users advance the public good by contributing to an extensive and freely available archive of public court documents. The project’s website, https://www.recapthelaw.org, has all of the details– how to install RECAP, a screencast of the plug-in in action, more discussion of why this issue matters, and a host of other goodies.
The repository already has over one million documents available for free download. Together, with the help of RECAP users, we can recapture truly public access to the court proceedings that give our laws their practical meaning.
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/harlanyu/introducing-recap-turning-pacer-around
NOLO
NOLOS's mission is to help consumers and small businesses find answers to their everyday legal and business questions. They have a helpful free legal encylcopedia with many topics.
http://www.nolo.com/
THOMAS
Legislative information from the Library of Congress. THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed below.
http://www.thomas.gov/
U.S. Goverment Printing Office - Federal Digital System
GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Through FDsys, you are able to:
*Search for documents and publications -- FDsys provides advanced search capabilities and the ability to refine and narrow your search for quick access to the information you need.
*Browse for documents and publications — FDsys offers browsing by collection, Congressional committee, date, and Government author.
*Access metadata about documents and publications -- FDsys provides information about Government publications in standard XML formats.
*Download documents and publications in multiple renditions or file formats -- With FDsys, users can download a single file or download content and metadata packaged together in a compressed file.
FDsys is: A Content Management System
FDsys provides free online access to official Federal Government publications and securely controls digital content throughout its lifecycle to ensure content integrity and authenticity.
A Preservation Repository
The repository guarantees long-term preservation and access to digital Government content. To meet this critical need for permanent access to Federal Government information, FDsys follows archival system standards.
An Advanced Search Engine
FDsys combines modern search technology with extensive metadata creation to ensure the highest quality search experience.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
Cornell University's Legal Information Institute
Wex is a free legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School. Wex entries are collaboratively created and edited by legal experts. More information about Wex can be found in the Wex FAQ.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/
PACER - Public Access to Court Electronic Records
Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is an electronic public access service that allows users to obtain case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator via the Internet. PACER is provided by the federal Judiciary in keeping with its commitment to providing public access to court information via a centralized service.
http://www.pacer.gov/