Monday, May 18, 2009

Free Case Law on the Web

Noted legal technology reporter Robert J. Ambrogi briefly reviews 10 free sites for case law on Law.com. He identifies major strengths and weaknesses of services such as Cornell's Legal Information Institute, FastCase, FindLaw, Justia, LexisOne, and PreCYdent.

For additional (although a bit dated) comparisons, see the Gallagher Law Library guide on Low-Cost Legal Research Services on the Web. This guide includes information about special law school offerings from several low-cost legal information providers.

Another great guide on this subject comes from the Georgetown Law Library. Free & Low-Cost Legal Research organizes the information by type of legal source (cases, constitutions, statutes, etc.) instead of by vendor.

Why should you care? Some legal employers do not provide the unfettered LexisNexis and Westlaw access to which you have become accustomed in law school. You may need to consult some of these free and low-cost alternatives during your summer job.

No comments: