lawyer

#Home - Free Legal Research Resources - Research Guides at Harvard Library

Chat with us

How to use this guide

This guide contains selected free online legal research resources. These resources can be a great way to get started with your research when you don't have access to paid databases or if you want to get an overview of a topic before getting started with potentially expensive searches.

For in-depth help with your research, please set up a research appointment through our Ask a Librarian! page, chat with a librarian in the chat box to the left or refer to the Getting Help tab.

Guide Contents:

1. Primary Federal Law. Selected resources for free access to U.S. federal cases, statutes, regulations and more.

2. Primary State Law. Selected resources for free access to state cases, statutes and regulations with advice on how to find free resources for other state and local materials.

3. Treaties. Find the text of U.S. and International treaties online.

4. Foreign International Law. Find resources for getting started with foreign and international legal research, including primary documents and secondary sources.

5. Secondary Sources. Find a range of secondary sources and legal periodicals for free online.

6. Empirical Sources. Find freely available data sets with data on the U.S. and the rest of the world.

7. Getting Help. If you get stuck with your research, chap with a librarian in the chat box to the left or refer to the Getting Help tab.