Legal Information
Court Web Sites
Many courts have their own web sites. The Los Angeles Superior Court is improving its web site all the time. Find it at lacourt.org
Legal Self-Help & Research
The premier self-help law site is run by Nolo Press, a company dedicated for the past 28 years to helping individuals navigate the sometimes murky waters of the law. Find do-it-yourself kits for things such as divorce and estate planning, and a comprehensive site on many topics. Nolo press is known for its accuracy, and its products are typically very trustworthy.
A huge database of legal topics to help with your research can be found at Cornell Law School's great legal research site. They also have direct links to the law of each of the 50 states
A comprehensive site with links to attorney and legal-research-oriented topics is All Law.com, www.alllaw.com
Check out your lawyer at www.lawyers.com, a site sponsored by Martindale Hubbell, the nation's leading directory of lawyers. Attorneys are listed by specialty and geographic area, among other choices. Because Martindale is a paid subscription service, however, many smaller firms aren't listed.
Computerized Databases
You can use computerized databases such as Lexis and Westlaw (available online, for a fee). Some libraries may offer this service as well as CD Roms such as LawDesk to search the names of lawyers, judges, and witnesses. Simply type the person's name into the search field, and see if their name appears in any cases. You can then read that judge's decisions, or cases in which the attorney was involved.