Free and Low Cost Legal Research Guide

Think beyond Lexis, Westlaw & Bloomberg Law. This guides identifies resources for free or low cost legal research.

Low-Cost Legal Databases

Fastcase

Fastcase, depending on subscription plans, offers access to federal and state statutes, federal and state appellate cases, and federal district and bankruptcy court opinions. U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit, and federal bankruptcy court case coverages are comprehensive. State court opinion coverages vary. Fastcase also offers a collection of cloud-based software for lawyers, such as DocketAlarm, and analytical tools, such as AI Sandbox.  A number of bar associations make Fastcase freely accessible to their members.

Casemaker

Casemaker provides unlimited access to the members of bar associations that join the Casemaker Consortium. A license fee is paid by each bar association, and there are no additional fees to use the service. Currently, 25 state bar associations are members. Consult the website of your bar association to find out if you have access. Individual subscriptions are currently unavailable.

Caselex

Caselex provides over 16,000 decisions from 52 countries across 4 continents. National cases are provided from 2000 forward, and all dates are provided for EU cases. There are several licensing options and they offer a  free trial.