ANSWERING LEGAL QUESTIONS ON A SHOESTRING
PAUL D. HEALEY
ONLINE LEGAL RESOURCES
This handout provides web resources can be used to find various kinds of legal and law-related
information It is abstracted from Appendix 1 of Legal Reference for Librarians: How and Where
to Find the Answers by Paul D. Healey (forthcoming, ALA Editions, 2013). This material
provides only a small portion of the resources available in the book, which includes web
resources specific to each state.
RESOURCES USEFUL FOR MOST STATES AND FOR GENERAL LEGAL RESEARCH
Legal Resource Aggregators/Portals
LawSource Inc., “American Law Sources On-line,” http://www.lawsource.com/also/.
Cornell University School of Law, Legal Information Institute, “Law by Source: State,”
http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/.
AllLaw.com, “State Law Search,” http://www.alllaw.com/State_Resources/.
FindLaw, “State Laws,” http://statelaws.findlaw.com/.
Justia.com, “US Law,” http://law.justia.com/.
“Full-Text State Statutes and Legislation on the Internet,” http://www.whpgs.org/f.htm.
Washburn University School of Law, WashLaw: Legal Research on the Web,
http://www.washlaw.edu/.
Fastcase, “The Public Library of Law,” http://www.plol.org/.
LawResearch Services Inc., “The Internet Law Library,” http://www.lawresearch.com/.
Resources for Attorneys, “Legal Resources Listed by State,”
http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com/statelegalresources.html.
General Research Guides
American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), Legal Information Services to the Public
(LISP), “Public Library Toolkit,” http://www.aallnet.org/sis/lisp/toolkit.htm.
Georgetown University Law Library, “Research Guides,”
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/.
Library of Congress, Law Library, “U.S. States & Territories,”
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/states.php.
Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, D.C., “State Legislatures, State Laws, and State
Regulations: Website Links and Telephone Numbers,” http://www.llsdc.org/state-leg/.
University of Iowa College of Law Library, “Legal Materials by Jurisdiction,”
http://libguides.law.uiowa.edu/jurisdictions.
Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, “Research,”
http://library.law.yale.edu/research/guides/state-law-research-guide.
Finding a Lawyer
ABA, Division for Legal Services, “Consumers’ Guide to Legal Help,”
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/states.html.
FindLaw, “Find a Lawyer,” http://lawyers.findlaw.com/.
HG.org, “Find Lawyers, Law Firms,” http://www.hg.org/.
Lawyers.com, “State Law and Agencies,” http://research.lawyers.com/State-Law-AndAgencies.html.
iLawyer [limited to a few states], http://www.ilawyer.com/.
Legal Directories, “Quick Lawyer Search,” http://www.legaldirectories.com/.
AttorneyPages, “Find and Attorney,” http://attorneypages.com/.
Legal Advocacy and Legal Aid
NCSC, “Legal Aid/Pro Bono: State Links,” http://www.ncsc.org/Topics/Legal-Services/LegalAid-Pro-Bono/State-Links.aspx.
FindLaw, “State Legal Aid Resources,” http://hirealawyer.findlaw.com/do-you-need-alawyer/state-legal-aid-resources.html.
ABA, Division for Legal Services, “Consumers’ Guide to Legal Help,”
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/states.html.
Pine Tree Legal Assistance, “Legal Services Links,” http://www.ptla.org/legal-services-links.
Pro Bono Net, LawHelp.org, http://www.lawhelp.org/.
Legal Services Corporation, “LSC Programs,” http://www.lsc.gov/find-legal-aid.
Miscellaneous
LexisWeb [search engine], http://lexisweb.com/.
ABA, “State and Local Bar Associations,”
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar_services/resources/state_local_bar_associations.
html.
HG.org, “Bar Associations,” http://www.hg.org/bar.html.
AALL, “State Summary Updates” [state-by-state reports on authentication of online legal
resources], http://www.aallnet.org/Documents/GovernmentRelations/authreportupdate.html.
FreeAdvice, http://www.freeadvice.com/.
Washburn University School of Law, WashLaw, “State, Court, and County Law Libraries,”
http://www.washlaw.edu/statecourtcounty/.
’Lectric Law Library, http://www.lectlaw.com/.
BRBPub.com, “Free Public Records,” http://www.brbpub.com/.
Basic Legal Reference
Westlaw, “Glossary for Legal Research Basics,”
http://lawschool.westlaw.com/shared/marketinfodisplay.asp?code=RE&id=17&mainpage
=23&rtid=116&rtcode=re.
Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Institute, Wex [dictionary and encyclopedia],
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/.
FindLaw, “Legal Dictionary,” http://dictionary.lp.findlaw.com/.
Nolo, “Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions,” http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/.
United States Senate, “Glossary,”
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/glossary.htm.
Peter W. Martin, “Introduction to Basic Legal Citation” (online ed. 2012),
http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/index.htm.