Week 1: Legal Research Boot Camp
www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia
NoloÕs Legal Encyclopedia is Nolo PressÕ online encyclopedia
which provides information on an array of legal topics. Written in plain
English, often in a question-and-answer style, the Nolo Legal Encyclopedia is a
good starting place for users.
California Courts Self-Help Center
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp
Provided by the California Judicial Council, the Self-Help
Center is designed specifically for Californians who are trying to represent
themselves in legal matters. Of particular note are its list of free and
low-cost legal providers and its link to Ask the Law Librarian which connects
people with law librarians in California.
Cornell Legal Information Institute
Legal Dictionary and Encyclopedia
www.law.cornell.edu
In addition to providing detailed information on a wide
range of legal topics, the Legal Information InstituteÕs Legal Encyclopedia
includes links to primary sources of law. A wonderful source for students and
others needing a comprehensive overview of areas of law.
books.google.com/bkshp?hl=en&tab=wp
Google Books includes many secondary sources of law
including Nolo Press books and legal textbooks. Current books are generally not
available in full-text but may be useful for gathering some general
information. The out-of-copyright books available in full-text can be useful
resources for students or those interested in an overview of a legal topic.
dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?
Law.com is the online news product for the publisher of many
legal periodicals. While the site is primarily for attorneys, it does offer The
PeopleÕs Law Dictionary, which includes definitions for standard legal terms.
Week 2:
California and Federal Law
Official website for the State of California includes links
to the California Courts, Legislature, laws, and agencies under its Government
Links section.
California Legislative Counsel Official Legislative
Information
www.leginfo.ca.gov
The California Legislative Counsel provides access to bills,
both passed and unpassed, and statutes from the 1993-94 Legislative session
forward. It also includes the current California Codes and the California
Constitution (under the California Law button).
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions
The California Judicial Council in conjunction with
LexisNexis has made California cases from 1850 to the present available in a
searchable database. The most recent cases are listed in the Òslip opinionÓ
portion of the site.
www.ca.gov/About/Government/agencyindex.html
The California State website provides an A to Z list of
California agencies. Agency websites are the best place to look for regulations
and other information on the activities of an agency.
California Code of Regulations
ccr.oal.ca.gov/linkedslice/default.asp?SP=CCR-1000&Action=Welcome
California, in conjunction with Westlaw, provides a
searchable version of the California Code of Regulations which contains the
regulations of all the California State agencies. Unfortunately, Title 24, the
Building Standards Code, is not included.
Institute of Governmental Studies
California Local Codes and Charters
igs.berkeley.edu/library/calcodes.html
U.C. BerkeleyÕs IGS Library maintains a large collection of
local city and county codes and charters. Their alphabetical list includes
links to those available on the Internet at no charge.
Seattle Public Library's Municipal
Codes Online
www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_municodes
Seattle Public Library provides links to numerous local city
and county codes available online for most of the 50 states. Its California
section links to the Institute of Governmental Studies website.
www.law.cornell.edu/federal
CornellÕs Legal Information Institute brings together all
the pieces of law from the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the
federal government.
www.thomas.gov
A service of the Library of Congress, THOMAS provides a
wealth of federal legislative information, including information about current
and past bills. It also links to resources for teachers and historical
legislative information.
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode
CornellÕs Legal Information Institute links to the House of
RepresentativeÕs version of the U.S. Code, containing the federal statutes. LII
adds helpful finding aids such as a Table of Popular Name and a search engine.
www.supremecourtus.gov
The official website of the U.S. Supreme Court includes
information on the Court itself as well as current and past justices as well as
cases decided by the Court.
LIIÕs Supreme Court Collection
www.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
CornellÕs Legal Information InstituteÕs Supreme Court
Collection includes recent cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Its Archive
of Decisions arranges past Supreme Court cases by topic (abortion), author
(Scalia), and party (Plessy).
www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks
The U.S. Courts website provides a set of links to
individual federal court websites. These websites will often contain
information about each court, including contact information and will often
include recent case decisions.
scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws
Google Scholar added a number of legal opinions (cases) to
its service in the fall of 2009. Perhaps the easiest way to find a case by its
name.
www.usa.gov
USA.gov serves as a gateway for information on the federal
government. It includes an A to Z list of federal agencies.
www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
GPO Access provides information from all three branches of
the federal government. It includes the most current version of the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), which contains the regulations from the hundreds of
federal agencies.
espanol.findlaw.com
Findlaw, one of the earliest megasites for legal materials,
has launched a Spanish-language version. Primarily a way to market attorneys,
it does offer some links to legal materials available at no cost on the web.
Week 3:
Forms, Forms, Forms!
California State Agency A to Z List
www.ca.gov/About/Government/agencyindex.html
The California State web page provides a full list of
California agencies with links to their websites. Agency websites generally
have all that agencyÕs regulations, information for citizens, and forms.
California Secretary of State
Business Entities Forms, Samples and Fees
www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/forms.htm
The California Secretary of State provides a step-by-step
guide to starting a business in California along with necessary forms on their
website.
USA.gov A to Z List of Federal
Agencies
www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
USA.gov is the easiest way to get to the websites of a
myriad of federal agencies. Each agency website provides information about the
agency, its duties and responsibilities, and usually includes forms needed to
contact the agency.
FedForms.gov: The U.S. GovernmentÕs
Official Hub for Federal Forms
www.fedforms.gov/bgfPortal/main.do
FedForms.gov provides citizens and businesses with a common
access point to federal forms. Frequently used forms are highlighted on the
first page.
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms
The California Judicial CouncilÕs California CourtÕs website
includes all the official Judicial Council forms. Forms include those used in
adoptions, divorces, and name changes.
www.icandocs.org/ca
I-CAN! is a free program from the Legal Aid Society of
Orange County which asks a series of questions and then generates a completed
court form. It offers this service in commonly requested areas such as child
support, divorce, evictions, and guardianships.
www.lexisone.com/lx1/store/catalog?action=main&l1loc=L1EC
LexisOne provides some free and some fee-based legal forms.
Users can select by topic or jurisdiction. Using the free forms requires
registration.
www.uslegalforms.com
U.S. Legal Forms offers over 36,000 legal forms, all for a
fee. It includes a section specifically for consumers.
www.uscourtforms.com
U.S. Court Forms provides a large number of forms, most of
them fee-based. However, particularly in California, a large number of these
forms can be found at no charge on state agency and state court websites.
www.legaldocs.com
Offers a limited number of free forms but does not require
registration. LegalDocs.com generates completed forms based on a series of
questions to be answered by the user.
Week 4:
Resources Beyond Your Library
www.calbar.ca.gov
The California State Bar website has a number of useful
features including a Public Services section which includes information on
finding an attorney and how to file a complaint against an attorney.
California State Bar Attorney Search
www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_generic.jsp?cid=10114
The Attorney Search Feature of the State Bar website
provides information on all attorneys licensed in the State of California. It
includes current contact information, education, years of practice, and
disciplinary information.
California Legal Specialist Search
members.calbar.ca.gov/search/ls_search.aspx
The Legal Specialist Search provides a way to identify
certified specialists in one of 20 areas of law by county. Individual attorney
records link to State Bar information in the Attorney Search portion of the
website.
www.lawyers.com
Offers Martindale-Hubbell, the largest law directory
available, to consumers. Also includes information on selecting a lawyer and on
some legal issues.
www.avvo.com
Avvo.com is a newer entrant to the attorney directory field
but has been aggressive in adding information, including peer rankings and
disciplinary information, on attorneys. It also includes legal guides and an
ask-an-attorney feature.
California Courts Self-Help Center
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp
Provided by the California Judicial Council, the Self-Help
Center is designed especially for non-lawyers handling their own legal affairs.
Of special note is their link to the Ask-A-Law-Librarian Service, a way for
your user (or you!) to connect with a county law librarian.
www.lawhelpcalifornia.org/CA/index.cfm
Made available through a variety of pro bono legal
providers, LawHelpCalifornia.org aids Californians in finding legal referrals
and basic legal information.
www.publiclawlibrary.org
Provided by the Council on California County Law Librarians,
this website offers links to self-help legal centers, how-to legal research
guides, links to legal resources on the web, and a list of the county law
libraries in California.
How to Research a Legal Problem: A
Guide for Non-Lawyers
www.aallnet.org/products/HowToResearchLegalProblem.pdf
A step-by-step guide for people trying to research their own
legal issues. Though not geared specifically to libraries, it provides a useful
methodology which library staff might want to share with their users.
Locating the Law: A Handbook for
Non-Law Librarians
www.aallnet.org/chapter/scall/locating.htm
Now in its 5th edition, Locating the Law, a publication of the Public Access
to Legal Information Committee of the Southern California Association of Law
Libraries (SCALL), covers the fundamentals of legal reference from reading
legal citations to locating federal and state legal sources and includes a
helpful chapter on the difference between offering legal advice and offering
legal reference service.