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LAW: GENERAL RESOURCES  

Websites discussed in this guide are “gateways” to legal resources: They link to multi-jurisdictional sites (international/national/state), sites by legal topic or practice area, aids to conducting legal research, directories, or products/services for the legal profession.  These resources are primarily produced by professional associations/organizations, academic sources (law schools, law school libraries), and official government sites.

This guide was created with Internet accessibility in mind.  Wherever possible, freely available resources have been included, however, some sites contain links to restricted databases.  Others are a combination of freely available resources and commercial products/services.  Since many of these sites are comprehensive in nature, there is an inevitable amount of overlap and duplication.

For related information on this subject, please see American Law and International Law.

AllLaw

•  Directory of links to sites for the following: American law (federal/state), professional 
associations/organizations, law schools/continuing education, practitioner information
(jobs, marketing/consulting, software), “legal support services” (court reporters, experts, arbitrators), forms, legal journals/periodicals, legal news
•  “Legal Topics” links to sites for 36 legal topics/practice areas; each topic/practice area 
includes annotated links to government sites and professional associations/organizations (some also include articles, forms)
•  “State Resources” links to information on individual states and may include courts, bar associations,  law schools, forms, news, government agencies/resources; comprehensive-ness of listings varies by state
•  Emphasis is on U.S.; limited links to international resources
•  Includes attorney locator (by state)
Includes significant commercial content
•  Excellent; this well-organized site is a great place for laypersons to begin researching legal issues

CataLaw: Meta-Index of Law and Government

• Online since 1996, CataLaw “aids legal research by arranging all indexes of law and government into a uniform, universal and unique metaindex”
• “Legal Topics” is a browsable directory of links to 48 categories (many of which have sub-categories)
• “Regional Law” links to regional legal information and a limited number of country-specific sites; includes many links to government/political sites
• “Extra Info” links to professional resources (professional associations/organizations, continuing education, journals/publications, directories, career information and more)
• No annotations
• Excellent; this is one of the best sites for locating legal indexes/directories

Digital Librarian: Law Resources

• Maintained by Margaret Vail Anderson
• Directory of links to almost 300 sites for the following legal resources: “gateways,” American law (federal/state/municipal), international law, academic sites, professional association/organizations, reference resources (dictionaries/glossaries/encyclopedias), topic-specific law, legal history (U.S./international), law journals/law reviews, indexes, court decisions “finding” aides, statutes/codes/registers, institutes, forums, webcasts, and more
• Sites considered to be of particular value are highlighted in bold face type
• Short annotations accompany most links
• International in scope, with primary emphasis on U.S.
• Last updated January 2007
• Excellent; this site is a great place to begin research, since it links to many of “the basics” for legal research resources; be prepared to browse extensively, however,  because this page is arranged alphabetically by site name

FindLaw

• Claiming to be the “highest-trafficked legal Website,” FindLaw is a meta-site for legal resources which has been online since 1996 and provides comprehensive information “… for legal professionals, corporate counsel, law students, and consumers”
• Links to over 50,000 websites in more than 30 areas of legal practice
• Also includes links to legal news (updated daily), all aspects of federal/state law, international legal resources, the LawCrawler (internal search engine), over 50 free e-mail newsletters, “Legal Market Center” (products/services for the legal profession), “Career Center,” lawyer directories (regional/state) and much more
• Outstanding; a wealth of resources for anyone interested in law; one of the best resources for commercial services/products

Guide to Law Online

• “Prepared by the U.S. Law Library of Congress, Public Services Division”
• “Annotated guide to sources of information on government and law available online”
“International and Multinational” section of the site links to gateways to constitutions, heads of state information/political science resources, treaties, United Nations resources
• “Nations of the World” links to legal/governmental information for 235 nations/colonial dependencies; links include constitutions, executive/judicial/legislative links (also “guides,” “general resources”)
• Also links to extensive federal/state official sites and numerous guides/related resources
Outstanding; this is one of the best resources for both official links and users’ guides for law on an international, national or state level

Internet Legal Research Group (ILRG)

• “Categorized index of more than 4000 select websites in 238 nations, islands, and territories” “Designed for everyone, lay persons and legal scholars alike”
• “Legal Profession” section links to an archive of over 2,000 legal forms, continuing education for law, professional associations/organizations, corporate/business filings forms/instructions, directory of lawyers/law firms
• “Academia” section links to law school course outlines archive, law school rankings, law reviews/journals, directory of law schools, “legal study abroad”
• Scope is international, with strong emphasis on the U.S.
• Includes “LawRunner,” an internal search engine
• Outstanding; the real value of this site is its resources for anyone concentrating on finding information on the legal profession and legal education

Internet Legal Resources

•  Maintained by the Warren E. Burger Library, William Mitchell College of Law
•  Directory of links to legal resources for the following: “U.S. State and Federal Primary Legal Materials,” “U.S. Secondary Legal Materials,” “Foreign and International Primary and Secondary Materials;” also provides guides to 15 legal topical categories
•  Also links to audience-specific sites for students, faculty, attorneys and administrators
•  Annotations accompany each link
•  Excellent; not comprehensive, but well-organized and a great place to begin legal research; sections on federal/state resources are especially useful

Law and Related Resources

•  Maintained by Jon Harrison, Social Sciences Collection coordinator, Michigan State University Libraries
•  Discusses the print, database and Internet resources for 20 legal resource categories Links to extensive citations and websites for federal/state/local law, foreign/international law, law by topic, journal collections/law publishers, law libraries/law schools, professional associations/organizations
•  Also includes categories related to legal reference resources, a digest/reporter location guide, “General Finding Tools,” bibliographies
•  Excellent annotations accompany many site
•  Most sites include “links last checked” information
•  Print resources may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
•  Databases are restricted to the Michigan State University community; they may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
•  Last updated in May 2006
•  Outstanding; this is an exceptionally well-organized site and one of the best places to begin research; the “General Finding Tools” section is one of the best of its kind online; highly recommended

Law Library Research Guides

•  Maintained by Lee Ryan, Dorraine Zief Law Library, University of San Francisco
•  Consists of a series of legal research guides for the following: “Research Basics,” California Research Guides,” “Federal Research Guides,” and “Specialized Research Guides”
•  These guides discuss print, database and Internet resources available in the Zief Library
•  Print resources may be found in academic law libraries and large public libraries
•  Databases are restricted to the University of San Francisco community; they may be found in academic law libraries and large public libraries
•  "Research Basics” guides examine a wide variety of legal research topics, including beginning/concluding research, research strategies, finding cases/citations, utilizing database like LexisNexis, Westlaw and other databases which are basic to online legal research
•  “Federal Research Guides” provide an excellent introduction for research on the Supreme Court; “Specialized Research Guides” address specific issues (employment, legal ethics, legislative research, international law)
•  All guides are very clearly written and should be useful to anyone interested in “the basics” of legal research
•  Last updated August 2006
•  Outstanding; this is an excellent example of a website which is approachable by the layperson and makes a complex area of information more readily accessible

Law Library Resource Xchange  (LLRX)

• Created and maintained by Sabrina I. Pacifici, LLRX.com is a “free, independent, one person produced journal” whose target audience is legal professionals, but much of its content is useful to anyone researching questions on a variety of timely legal issues
•  There is extensive analysis/commentary on over 180 legal topics/issues; there are over 2,000 articles/columns in the archives from 1996 to the present
•  Articles are authored by law librarians, legal scholars, attorneys and other legal professionals
•  Archives may be browsed by author, column, date or topic; searchable
•  Includes numerous links to federal/state resources, legislation and related NGO sites
•  Outstanding; one of the best resources for well-researched, authoritative information for a variety of relevant issues (copyright, e-government, freedom of information, the Patriot Act, privacy); highly recommended

Law Scout

•  Maintained by the University of Akron School of Law; created by Paul Richert, law librarian/professor
•  “Provides subject access to … the pathfinders and guides of over 130 law schools and other institutions”
•  This search engine/database is a very useful tool for locating online resources from a wide variety of institutions which deal with legal education/research, including law schools, law school libraries, state law libraries, county law libraries
•  Pathfinders/guides include a cornucopia of all types of legal information, including American law (all jurisdictional levels), international/foreign law, law by topic, legal research procedures/techniques, professional/educational resources and much more
•  Link to each institution’s website includes a description which briefly outlines its content by key words
•  May be searched by keyword/topic, city/state
•  Outstanding; this extensive directory provides a very convenient way to access hard-to-find legal information from numerous, high-quality pathfinders/guides; it should be useful for all levels; highly recommended

Legal Information Institute  (LII)

•  Sponsored by the Cornell University Law School
•  “The LII is known internationally as a leading ‘law-not-com’ provider of public legal information,” with the following mission: “To carry out applied research on the use of digital information technology in the distribution of legal information, the delivery of legal education, and the practice of law”
• Since 1992, it has strived: “To make law more accessible not only to U.S. legal professionals but to students, teachers, and the general public in the U.S. and abroad”
• “Law about…” section of the site contains 130 articles for “overviews” of legal topics/areas of practice; each includes “Federal Material” (statutes, regulations, judicial decisions), “State Material”  (statutes, judicial decisions), “Key Internet Sources”
• Also links to “Constitutions/Codes” (U.S.), “Law by Sources or Jurisdiction” (world, federal, state), “Court Opinions,” “Directories” (legal association/organizations, law schools, law firms, publishers) and the “American Legal Ethics Library”
•  Outstanding; this site makes the “best” list of every guide to Internet-based law resources; well-organized and useful to all levels; highly recommended

Legal Research Guides

•  Maintained by the Marion Gould Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington School of Law
•  “Keyword/Subject List” includes over 100 legal research guides for a wide variety of topics/resources: legal research procedures/ techniques, federal/state resources, foreign/international law, careers/employment, ethics, law by topic, journals/publications, “current awareness” resources
•  Guides discuss print resources, databases and Internet resources; excellent annotations accompany citations/websites
•  Print resources may be found in academic law libraries and large public libraries
•  Databases are restricted to the University of Washington community; they may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
•  Guides vary in complexity, depending on topic/resource; all are very well-written and should be useful to all
•  Includes additional links to resources for legal research information sources
•  Contains significant content for legal research resources for Washington state
•  Last updated February 2007
• Outstanding; this one of the best sites of its kind currently available; it is thorough, extensive (especially in regards to law by topic) and should be useful to anyone doing legal research; highly recommended

Research Guides & Pathfinders

•  Resource page for over 40 guides/pathfinders created by the University of Minnesota Law School Library for using the print, database and Internet resources in the Library
•  Print resources may be found in academic law libraries and large public libraries
•  Databases are restricted to the University of Minnesota community; they may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
•  Guides/pathfinders are available for the following law topics: administrative, case law, civil procedure, environment, foreign/international law, health/bioethics, intellectual property, immigration/naturalization, jury verdicts/awards, taxation, women & the law (multiple guides exist for some of these topics)
•  Also includes resources for the following: careers/employment, legal ethics, law reviews/journals, legal education, self-help resources, treatises/hornbooks/”nutshells”
•  Primary content of guides/pathfinders includes print resources (including journals), government publications, websites, “current awareness” resources
•  Also links to additional worthwhile websites with similar content
•  Excellent annotations accompany citations/links
•  Guides vary in complexity, dependent on the topic/resource; all are very well-written and should be useful to users who are unfamiliar with legal resources
•  Includes tips for conducting the most productive searches in online catalogs
•  Last updated December 2006
•  Outstanding; another excellent example of a practical, easy-to-use site for beginning legal research

WashLaw Web

•  Maintained by the Washburn University Law Library
•  “A Free Service of Washburn University School of Law”
•  Meta-site for links to federal law, state law, international law and law by topic/area of practice
•  “Federal” links to official sites for executive/judicial/congressional resources, including the Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, legislation/statutes, Executive Orders,    federal court system (all levels)
•  “State” links to each state’s administrative code/regulations, statutes, court system, boards/commissions, executive/legislative information; also includes advice on conducting research on the state’s legal laws/legal system
•  “International” links to 155 nations’ legal resources for the following: government information, courts/justice system, constitution, laws/statutes; may also include “Legal  Research” guides, “study abroad” programs (comprehensiveness of links varies by country) •  “Subject Index” links to sites for 117 topics/areas of practice: all include Internet links; some have additional resources (treatises, listserv information, etc.)
•  Also includes links to “hundreds” of law journals/reviews (both domestic and international), directory of law schools (both domestic and international), career information, “PreLaw” resources, additional resources
•  Searchable
•  Last updated January 2007
•  Outstanding; one of the most comprehensive and well-organized law school sites currently online; especially useful for federal/state resources and legal topics/areas of practice; highly recommended

Zimmerman’s Research Guide

•  Maintained by Andrew Zimmerman (Director of Library Services at Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander LLC, Baltimore) with the assistance of numerous colleagues
•  Sponsored by LexisNexis InfoPro for Legal Information Professionals
•  This “online encyclopedia” is a browsable directory of guides for several hundred legal research resources, including legal research procedures/techniques, publications, federal/state resources, foreign/international law, careers/employment, topic-specific law, ethics, legal standards for specific businesse
•  Guides include commentary/analysis on print resources, government sites, Internet resources
•  Guides vary in complexity, depending on the topic/resource; all are very well-written and should be useful to users who are unfamiliar with legal resources
•  Cross-referencing of topics is excellent
•  Searchable by keyword
•  Continuously updated
•  Outstanding; another excellent resource for quick access to a wide variety of legal research resources; contains much topical law information not readily found elsewhere in one place; highly recommended

Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only.  Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the content, accuracy or stability of any website linked to this page.  When in need of legal advice, consult a legal professional.

Compiled by Rick Keogh, 2/07; links last checked 5/07

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