Free Online Sources of Legal Information
Compiled by Ron Jones, Reference Librarian

Introduction
There are a variety of online legal resources available to the researcher today. Although the most comprehensive databases require a fee, there are many sites that provide legal information free of charge. The links listed below provide the researcher with free access to case law, federal and state documents, and topical pages devoted to specific legal topics.

This site is provided as a public service by the University of Cincinnati Law Library. Nothing in this site should be construed as legal advice or legal representation.

ABA LawInfo http://www.abalawinfo.org
Maintained by the American Bar Association, Lawinfo.org offers legal information on a variety of topics including family law, employment law, court proceedings, and criminal law. General subjects are subdivided into specific legal issues with corresponding articles. Written for the legal researcher as well as the layperson, Lawinfo.org is a perfect starting point for legal research.

ERI's Employment Laws and Definitions www.erieri.com/freedata/hrcodes/index.htm
ERI Economic Research Institute provides a summary of human resources data that includes terms, practices, and laws that affect compensation for all U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Our site also contains information on international labor laws and practices and whether or not the laws are enforced.

FindLaw http://www.findlaw.com
Findlaw is considered by many to be the web portal for law related information. It combines a vast directory of sites including a law-oriented web search engine, a full text library of case law, and federal and state documents. Findlaw also includes a comprehensive U.S. Supreme Court database including opinions, rules, briefs, and biographies. All completely free to the public.

Jurist: the Legal Education Network http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/
Maintained by the University of Pittisburg School of Law, Jurist is designed for people learning, teaching or researching law. Jurist offers continuously updated legal news on over sixty legal topics, online guides to a variety of legal subjects, streaming video of lectures and speeches by noted judges and legal scholars, and the ability to search federal and state case law. Jurist is also highly regarded for its International Law content, providing a brief synopsis of a particular country's governmental structure, including links to the constitution, legislative body, and legal system.

Lawyers.com http://www.lawyers.com
This site is an excellent resource for locating an attorney who specializes in a particular area of law. Also contains a variety of articles written on frequently asked questions pertaining to specific legal issues.

Legal Engine http://www.legalengine.com
This resource provides quick links to a variety of legal research sites available on the internet, including links to courts and case law, legal topics, news sources, and legal reference resources.

Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu/
One of the premier sites for legal research on the Internet (ranked as the most linked resource in the field of law), LII's comprehensive site archives the full-text of primary U.S. legal documents including constitutions, codes, and court opinions. LII also provides an overview of specific legal topics, organized in a very user friendly format with references to U.S. Code sections, case law, and key internet resources.

LexisOne http://www.lexisone.com/
LexisOne provides free access (after registration) to case law, legal forms, and current legal news from Lexis/Nexis. An alternative to Findlaw, LexisOne provides a quick way to search by citation, along with the opportunity to "Shepardize" (that is, research the treatment and history of) cases for a small fee.

Library of Congress Guide to Law Online http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/index.html
The Library of Congress has created an online guide to laws from around the world, along with links to those resources. Each guide is divided into types of material as well as subject areas. Of notable interest, the International and Multinational page provides links to multinational reference sources, online law reviews, and treaties. Each guide focuses on quality rather than quantity. They are highly selective, claiming to include only the best online sources.

Megalaw.com http://www.megalaw.com
Megalaw.com provides topical pages devoted to specific legal subjects, federal and state resources, and international law. Megalaw.com also provides links to free legal forms available on the web.

NOLO Self-help Law Center http://www.nolo.com
NOLO publishes reliable plain-English books, software, forms to help people handle their own everyday legal matters. NOLO also offers a legal encyclopedia as well as a legal dictionary.