Useful Web Sites for Summer Clerking

Posted on Posted in Free Web Research

Try using some free web sites this summer to save money on LexisNexis and Westlaw costs for your employer and/or their clients.

Here are some useful sites for free legal research on the web:

  • From the C|M|LAW  Library Home Page click on Legal Research on the Web to find a collection of links arranged by type of resource – case law, statutes, regulations,  briefs, forms etc.
  • Ohio Supreme Court – Besides case law for the Supreme Court and Ohio Appellate courts,   there is a docket with full text filings and court rules.   Of particular importance is the Manual of Citations and Revisions to the Manual of Citations which show the citation format for briefs filed with Ohio courts.    You may want to watch this short Camtasia presentation regarding citation formats for Ohio.
  • Google Scholar – The most comprehensive free site for case law on the web.  State reported  cases,1950-, fed circuit/ district 1923-.
  • Statutes and Regulations are on the web for all 50 states and the Federal government.  Be careful to note the currency of the information.  The most current Federal statutes can be found at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.   For current Federal Regulations (usually within one day or so of issuance) see E-CFR.   To help find state statutes, bills, regulations and other state materials, try a portal such as American Law Sources Online or LexisOne State Resource Center.
  • Dockets:  PACER contains the Federal Court dockets including many full text pleadings and motions, but it costs 8 cents a page.  Use  LLRX to find state court dockets.  If you want to find full text pleadings and motions for Ohio, try the Summit and Montgomery County docket, among others.  Also see Resources for Online Court Dockets
  • C|M|LAW Library Research Guides – There are guides for a multitude of legal subjects, listing the major books for that subject with direct links to LexisNexis, Westlaw, CCH and BNA.   The guides also list important statutes, rules and regulations in each area of law as well as web resources.    To easily find the major treatises in a certain area of law, try Major Legal Treatises and Services by Subject.
  • Martindale Hubbell Law Digest – Although the free versions on the web are a few years out of date, they still contain useful and easily up-datable information.  There are summaries of the law in the fifty states and many foreign countries, with citations to the relevant statutes.  This resource is particularly useful for statute of limitations questions.
  • GPO Access and the new beta web site FedSys are the gateways to federal government information.  For federal bills and legislative history, try Thomas.gov.
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