Self-Help Legal Research Guide: Low Cost/Free Online Sources
This guide is designed to help non-lawyers navigate the Missouri legal system & offers tips on how to conduct legal research, and offers resources on how to find an attorney / Last updated by Jacob Wood, JD '25
FastCase is targeted for small and solo firms. Contains US Supreme Court Reports; federal bankruptcy cases; federal courts of appeals decisions from 1924 or the inception of the court, whichever is more recent; and federal district court cases from the beginning of West’s Federal Supplement series. Coverage of state appellate cases in 1950 or earlier for all 50 states. Missouri Bar Association members receive access to FastCase for free. Otherwise there is a small subscription fee.
Contains US Supreme Court decisions back to 1893; California Supreme Court and Appellate Court decisions back to 1934; US Circuit Court and other state court decisions as well as federal and state codes.
Offers state court opinions and statutes for all 50 states. It has complete US Supreme Court Reports, and federal courts of appeals decisions from 1924 or the inception of the court, whichever is more recent. Included material will vary with subscription (which can range from $50 – 250/month).
Low cost alternative to Westlaw or Lexis. US Supreme Court cases from 1886 to present; federal court of appeals from 1930; US Code; Code of Federal Regulations; state appellate courts; state codes and regulations; and court rules. Subscriptions from $14 – 40/month.
Contains U.S. Supreme Court cases since 1791, U.S. state appellate and supreme court cases since 1950, and U.S. Federal district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy courts since 1923.
A directory of legal web sites organized by topic area. Includes links to court decisions and cases, forms, news, blogs, career development, and directories of law firms and organizations.
Provides various legal resources including the Constitution, Supreme Court rulings, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Secondary Sources, and much more.
