http://www.pls.com (full text of the U.S. Code)

http://www.access.gpo.gov (Federal Register from 1994 to the present)

http://www.law.cornell.edu:80/ucc (Uniform Commercial Code text)

http://www.municode.com (municipal ordinances from a number of jurisdictions)

http://www.usdoj.gov (Department of Justice)

http://www.uspto.gov (Patent and Trademark Office)

There are millions of webpages with law and law-related information, and hundreds of valuable legal research sites. Our goal was to be selective, and present here a fourteen internet sites that provide an excellent starting point for your legal research journey. Most of the websites link you to both primary and secondary sources on a variety of legal subjects. Happy searching.

• All Law.com: http://www.alllaw.com
• Catalaw: http://www.catalaw.com
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: http://www.law.cornell.edu
• Findlaw: http://www.findlaw.com
• Georgetown: http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/lib/guides/index.html
• GPO Access: http://www.access.gpo.gov
• Hieros Gamos: http://www.hg.org
• Indiana University Virtual Law Library: http://www.law.indiana.edu/v-lib
• Jurist: http://www.jurist.law.pitt.edu
• Law.com: http://www.law.com
• Lawsource.com: http://www.lawsource.com
• LLRX.com: http://www.llrx.com
• Thomas: http://thomas.loc.gov
• Virtual Chase: http://www.virtualchase.com

Web Links:

• Directories
  This includes connections to more than 42 legal directories and covers law schools, law firms, and law related organizations.
• ForIntLaw- Foreign and International Law
  Provides comprehensive Internet access to foreign, international, and United Nations laws and legal materials on Internet. The database contains links to primary and secondary sources in many countries.
• Gateway to Internet Law Related Resources- Washlaw Web
  This resource links all Law School, Law Firm, State and Federal materials.
• Government Documents and Federal Law-DocLaw
  Provides access to all law related United States Federal Government resources. It is arranged by subject and agency.
• Law Firms
  Connections to all law firms on Internet.
• Law Journals
  Includes access to all law related journals on Internet.
• Law Library Catalogs
  Provides connections to over 90 law (or law related) library catalogs. Law Schools and Legal Organizations
  Links to all Law Schools, Legal Associations, and Legal Organizations.
• Listserv Information and Archives
  This includes access to all law related listservs (net-lawyers, lawlibref-l, privatelawlib-l, lawclinic, familylaw-l, lawlibdir-l, lawdeans-l, and many others).
• Search Internet
  Provides links to search menus for web, gopher, and FTP information.
• State Government & Legislative Information STATE-LAW
  A comprehensive set of links to state law.
• Virtual Law Reference Desk-REFLAW
  Reflaw contains information of interest to professors, law students, and others interested in locating legal reference material on the Internet. Files include: Professors Choice, Daily News, and Government and International Reference.

Legal Research via the World Wide Web

home

Comprehensive Sites

1. Legal Information Institute - http://law.cornell.edu

   Searchable full-text integrates information from the Legal Information Institute, and Cornell School of Law. Hyper-text to recent Supreme Court decisions are readily available. This site does not deal with broad areas of law, but rather with issues addressed by the Cornell School of Law.
   
   

2. Washlaw Web - http://www.washlaw.edu/
   
   Offers full-text information on law related discussion groups. There is a useful Table of Contents which aids the user in locating and exploring particular areas of law. (Check out the following links: State Law, Bar Associations, Law Directories, Law Journals, Continuing Education, Law Firms)
   
   
3. Emory Law Finder Electronic Reference Desk - http://www.law.emory.edu/LAW/refdesk/toc.html
   
   
4. Findlaw: Internet Legal Resources - http://www.findlaw.com
   
   This is a great resource due to the numerous legal fields covered (Law Schools to Statutes/Laws). Easily accessible and provides information in a logical format.
   
   
5. Guide to Legal Resources on the Web - http://www.kentlaw.edu/clc/lrs/lawlinks
   
   Provides searchable full-text on Law Schools and libraries. This site also has a useful section outlining specialized areas of law, where more information can be obtained regarding particular legal subjects.
   
   
6. Hieros Gamos - http://www.hg.org/
   
   Contains information about 6,000 legal organizations, and self-listing user modifiable databases of various legal entities. This site also has a unique feature allowing the user to display data in foreign languages.
   
   
7. Internet Law Library - http://law.etext.org/
   
   Searchable full-text of information compiled by the United States House of Representatives Law Library. Now maintained by Etext Archives. It allows quick access to Federal Laws, and various legal directories and reviews. The U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations are also searchable at this site, complete with a Reference Desk that lists the "20 Most Requested Pages" from the library.
   
   
8. World Wide Web Virtual Library: Law - http://www.law.indiana.edu/
   
   Provides searchable full-text on Online Research Sources including the Virtual Library. It is not as easily accessible as some sites, and most of the information pertains to the Indiana School of Law and its offerings.
   
9. New York Courts and Law Guide- http://www.nylj.com/guide/
   
   This guide includes more than 100 documents, written in plain English, that explain the courts and laws of New York to non-lawyers. It is the most comprehensive explanation of the New York legal system on the Internet.
   
10. Yahoo's Law Guide - http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Law
    
    This is an informative site which allows the user to search Yahoo's reference materials as well as the topic of Law on a broader spectrum. There are many new searchable topics providing a vast range of legal issues that can be researched, such as case law, Journals, and basic legal research.

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State/Local Statutory Law / Legislative History

1. New York State Laws- http://assembly.state.ny.us/ALIS/laws.html
   
   
2. The Constitution and Statutes of New York State
   
3. State Law - http://www.washlaw.edu/washlaw/uslaw/statelaw.html
   
   
4. This site from Washburn University School of Law provides links to statutes and codes available in electronic form from many states. It also offers full-text information regarding legal areas of interest to all states. The format of this site is easy to access, and allows the user to locate information quickly.
5. State and Territorial Laws - http://law.etext.org/17.htm
   
   This site from the U.S. House of Representatives provides links to full-text versions of statutes and codes for all the states. It also offers references to Laws of jurisdictions, as well as several legal reviews and services.
6. State Codes - http://www.law.cornell.edu/statutes.html
   
   Full-text codes arranged according to state by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. This site provides the user with access to material from the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as related State Legislative Information. There are a vast number of topics that can be easily researched through this single site.
7. State Statutes on Selected Topics - http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/state_statutes.html
   
   Law texts from many states arranged topically by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. A listing of State Statutes can be easily accessed through this site for further legal reference. This feature allows the user to obtain and compare the information quickly.
8. State Legislative Sites - http://www.ncsl.org/public/sitesleg.htm
   
   This site from the National Conference of State Legislatures provides links to legislative materials for some states. It offers documents in full-text and allows quick access to each of them.
9. Session Law Update- http://www.courts.state.ny.us/97session.html
   
   Summary of 1997 Session Laws of Particular Interest to NYS Unified Court System
   
   http://www.courts.state.ny.us/lsum/rel.htm
   
   Summary of 1998 Session Laws of Particular Interest to NYS Unified Court System
   
   http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reclegis99/reclegis99_TOC.html
   
   Summary of 1999 Session Laws of Particular Interest to NYS Unified Court System
   
   http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reclegis00/reclegis00_TOC.html
   
   Summary of 2000 Session Laws of Particular Interest to NYS Unified Court System
   
   http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reclegis00/Newlegis.html
   
   Summary of Legislation Enacted Over the Past Two Weeks
   
10. New York City Council- http://leah.council.nyc.ny.us/
    New York City Local Laws 1990 - present. Also, all bills introduced 1995 - present
    
    

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State Regulations

1. REG Alert - http://www.regalert.com/index.html
   
   This is a commercial site operated by the Regulatory Resource Center. It provides up-to-date information on proposed and adopted regulatory activities at the state level.
   
   
2. State Capitals - http://statecapitals.com/
   
   This is a newsletter that reports emerging trends in state legislation and regulations in all 50 states. Fifteen major regulatory areas are covered.

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State Case Law

1. State Courts On-Line - http://www.ljextra.com/courthouse/statelinks.html
   
   

   Links to state courts provided by Law Journal Extra. This site offers full-text information regarding the various levels and branches of state courts, and their rulings. This reference would be useful in locating a specific state court decision.

2. State Court Locator - http://vls.law.vill.edu/compass/
   
   Links to state courts provided by Villanova Center for Law and Policy. It provides additional state information in the form of Opinions, Judicial Indexes, and several other state legal sources. The web site addresses are clearly displayed by each reference for quick access to information.

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Federal Statutory Law / Legislative History / Regulatory Law

1. Constitution of the United States - http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
   
   Searchable full-text made available by the United States House of Representatives. It begins with the preamble and displays the following Articles and Sections of the Constitution. Easily accessible, but it does not provide additional site listings for relative information.
   
2. United States Code - http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
   
   Searchable full-text of 1994 official version made available by Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School. This site provides easy access to information by allowing the user to view listings, tables, and forms, including a "fast search feature" for quicker topic searches.
   
3. United States Code - http://uscode.house.gov/
   
   Searchable full-text of the official version, current through 1993, made available by the United States House of Representatives. It provides access to State Statutes, as well as several Federal Regulations and Court Decisions. This site also has a helpful directory indicating ways to locate information efficiently.
   
   
4. Thomas - http://thomas.loc.gov/
   
   Important legislative service offered by the Library of Congress. It provides the searchable full-text of the Congressional Record (1993-present), recent bill texts and tracking information about them.
   
   
5. GPO Access - http://gpo.lib.purdue.edu
   
   The U.S. Superintendent of Documents distributes its materials electronically through this system. It includes searchable full-text of Congressional bills starting in 1993, Congressional reports and documents starting in 1995, and the Congressional Record, starting in 1995. This source provides an abundance of information, but it may be difficult to locate a particular subject area due to the format of the subject index.
   
   
6. Congressional Record - http://law.etext.org/5.htm
   
   Searchable full-text from 1993-present is provided by the United States House of Representatives. This site includes various senatorial speeches, and debates as additional informational sources.
   
   
7. Federal Register - http://gpo.lib.purdue.edu/bin/GPOAccess.cgi
   
   The U.S. Superintendent of Documents distributes its materials electronically through this system. It includes searchable full-text of the Federal Register from 1994-present.
   
   
8. Code of Federal Regulations - http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
   
   Searchable full-text of the C.F.R. is provided by the U.S. House of Representatives. It provides basic material about the Register and its purpose. This site has a useful reference guide outlining additional sources with relevant information, on how to access them.
   
   
9. Federal Regulatory Information - http://asa.ugl.lin.umich.edu/chdocs/federalregs/fulltext.html#fullfr
   
   This site provided by the University of Michigan offers a comprehensive guide to all types of federal regulatory sources. It gives detailed instructions on how to access the various online sources for additional, relevant information.

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Federal Case Law

1. Federal Courts Home Page - http://www.USCourts.gov/

   This site provides searchable full text made available by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. It lists several Court-related search topics with useful descriptions following each of them for quick reference.

2. History of the Federal Judiciary - http://air.fjc.gov/history
   
   
3. Released on February 9, 2000 by the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), this site constitutes "a major, previously-unpublished reference source for the history of the federal courts." It is composed of five major sections. The first, Judges of the United States Courts, contains the Federal Judges Biographical Database, a browseable or keyword-searchable database of the service records and professional resumes of presidentially-appointed judges since 1789. Users can also construct their own queries about groups of federal judges, including the justices of the Supreme Court. The second section, Courts of the Federal Judiciary, offers legislative histories of courts and circuits within the federal judiciary, in addition to lists of chief judges and information on the location of the official records of each court. The Landmark Judicial Legislation section presents the full text of 21 statutes related to the organization and administration of the judiciary, presented in a timeline with notes on their historical significance. The final two sections explore selected topics in judicial history and exhibit annotated photos of historical federal courthouses, browsed via a pull-down menu. Additional resources include a collection of FJC publications and (annotated) related links.
   
4. U.S. Courts Law Finder - http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDCTS
   
5. United States Supreme Court - http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/

   At this site the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School provides the full-text of opinions from 1990-present which are searchable by year and keyword. A few older opinions are also available. It provides excellent background information which allows the user to gain more knowledge about the functions of the Supreme Court.

6. United States Courts of Appeal - http://www.law.cornell.edu/opinions.html
   
   http://www.washlaw.edu/washlaw/washlaw.html
   
   These sites provide searchable full-text regarding the proceedings of all the Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as all Circuit Court opinions on the Internet. State Court information is also available with relevant statistical data included.
7. United States District Courts - http://www.USCourts.gov/PubAccess.html
   
   This site provides detailed information explaining the uses of automated Information in the U.S. Federal Court system. It lists methods for obtaining court decisions, as well as other court information, and services available to the public.
8. United States Bankruptcy - http://bankrupt.com/
   
   Searchable full-text describing general facts about the area of bankruptcy. The site lists several other components of bankruptcy that can be researched, including relevant publications, online directories of Bankruptcy clerks, and discussion groups.
9. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure - http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/overview.htm
   
   Searchable full-text on current newsworthy court decisions and legal material. Provides access to Court Rules including the Supreme Court's New Rules and Federal Rules of Evidence. This site offers an abundance of material regarding the impact of Information Technology in the legal field.
   
10. Federal Rules of Evidence - http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/overview.html
    
    Lists the Federal Rules of Evidence, as would be found in the Rules of Court written text. The directory provides additional sources that enhance the material outlined by the Federal Rules.

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Secondary Sources

1. Judicial Administration
   National Center for State Courts - http://www.ncsc.dni.us
   
   This site is dedicated to the improvement of justice and provides links to court web sites through out the country, NCSC the Institute for Court Management and Court Technology Programs; and other judicial organizations such as Conferences of Chief Justices, Conference of State Court Administrators, National Association of Court Management, American Judges Association, National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks, National College of Probate Judges, and the National Association of Women Judges.
   
2. Attorneys
   Martindale Law Directory - http://www.martindale.com
   
   Electronic version of this publisher's directory.
   
   West's Legal Directory - http://www.lawoffice.com
   
   This site is provided by the West Group which allows the user to locate information about law firms, government officers, and corporate law offices, in the United States and Canada. There is a useful Site Map which offers a variety of sources to assist the user in conducting legal research.
   
   
3. Current Awareness
   BIGEAR:Current Legal Resources on the Net - http://barratry.law.cornell.edu:5123/notify/buzz.html
   
   This site is maintained by the Legal Information Institute, and it provides a variety of law-related listserves and news groups. It offers a cumulative listing of document titles, and a link to the documents, so the user knows exactly what information to access.
   
   
4. Continuing Legal Education
   ALI_ABA Committee on CLE - http://www.ALI-ABA.org
   
   This site offers information about post-admission legal education to members of the profession. It lists the user's access to various materials in legal education, as well as quick links to other relative sites.
   
   
5. Discussion Groups
   The Law List - http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/lawlists/info.html
   
   Keyword searchable database of law lists (discussion groups) arranged A to Z with instruction on how to search them. Also, a list of law related usenet groups.
   
   
6. Articles
   Law Journals on the Web - http://www.law.indiana.edu/law/v-lib/lawindex.html
   
   Searchable index of selected law journals and reviews.
   
7. Law Enforcement Links - http://www.ih2000.net/ira/ira.htm
   
   This site offers information in four parts, making it easy for the user to access material by category. It offers links to various sheriffs' offices, as well as police departments both in the United States and worldwide. The site does have a specific legal page which allows the user to gain access to the Stanford University search engine.
   
8. Law Firms
   FINDLAW -http://www.findlaw.com/14firms/index.html
   
   This site offers various links to law firms and lawyers. Information regarding these topics can be obtained through the Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer search and the West Directory of Lawyers for quick access.
   
   Hieros Gamos - http://www.hg.org/lawfirms.html
   This site provides twelve directories listing data bases and useful legal resources for the user to access. There is an additional listing of law firms located throughout various parts of the world, allowing the user to access information on a global scale.
   
   
9. Law Lexicon
   The 'Lectric Law Library - http://www.lectlaw.com/ref.html
   
   This part of a multiple database provides the meaning of law related words, terms, and phrases.
   
   
10. Law Libraries
    United States Law Libraries - http://www.washlaw.edu/washlaw/lawcat/lawcat.html
    
    An extensive directory of academic law libraries with telnet connections.
    
    Yahoo - http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Law/Legal_Research/Libraries/
    
    A listing of government law libraries on the Internet.
    
    
11. Law Schools - Hieros Gamos - http://www.hg.org/schools.html
    
    This site offers directories listing various law schools throughout the country.
    
    
12. Internal Revenue Forms - http://www.fedworld.gov/taxsear.htm

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News

1. CNN Interactive - http://www.cnn.com/
   
   Online equivalent of televised CNN News arranged in 10 topical areas. This site lists top stories taking place both in the United States may and the entire world. There is a unique News Pager feature which allows the user to receive automatic updates on recent events. There is not a specific legal index, however, there are several categories that may be researched for legal references.
   
   
2. New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com
   
   This site provides a vast number of accessible sources with a helpful guide for first time users of the site. It allows information to be accessed by category for quick reference.
   
   
3. New York Law Journal - http://www.nylj.com
   
   
4. Wall Street Journal - http://www.wsj.com/
   

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Search Engines

InfoSeek - http://infoseek.go.com/

Lycos - https://www.lycos.com/

Alta Vista - http://altavista.com/

Northern Light - http://www.northernlight.com

WebCrawler - http://www.webcrawler.com

Law Crawler - http://lawcrawler.findlaw.com

AAA-Matilda - http://www.aaa.com.au/images/logos/searches/us.shtml
Search in English, Spanish, German or Chinese

New York Supreme Court - Part 53 (William C. Donnino, Judge) -Includes pending cases and motions, opinions and criminal law update.-http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/w_c_d/

New York State Bar Association - http://www.nysba.org

Public Information - http://www.nysba/public/public.html

Includes Senior Citizens Handbook, Lawyer Referral by County, Why you need a will, Adoption in NYS, Divorce and Separation in NYS and If you have an Auto Accident

New York State Bar Code of Professional Responsibity - http://www.nysba.org/opinions/codes/anchor1.html

New York State Bar Ethics Opinions - http://www.nysba.org/opinions/opinions.html

Guide to Attorney Disciplinary Procedure in New York State - http://www.nysba.org/public/grievance.html