# Every Free Legal Research Tool Worth Using (2026) Westlaw and Lexis cost $300-$500/month. Your bar association gives you Fastcase for free. PACER charges by the page but RECAP doesn't. Most law students don't know these tools exist until 2L, and most don't use them well even then. Here's the complete list, by category. --- ## Case Law - **Cornell LII** ([law.cornell.edu](https://www.law.cornell.edu/)) — Start here for almost anything. Federal and state statutes, Constitution, CFR, UCC, Restatements. Cross-linking between related sources saves time. - **Google Scholar** ([scholar.google.com](https://scholar.google.com/)) — Best free tool for citation tracking. Find every case that cited a given opinion. Citator is weaker than Westlaw's KeyCite, but it's free. - **CourtListener / Free Law Project** ([courtlistener.com](https://www.courtlistener.com/)) — Federal courts and many state courts. Audio oral arguments. Tied to the RECAP archive (more on that below). - **Justia** ([justia.com](https://law.justia.com/)) — Clean interface for federal and state cases, statutes, regs, treaties. Good for quick reads when you don't need headnotes. - **Fastcase** ([fastcase.com](https://www.fastcase.com/)) — Often free through your state bar membership. If you haven't activated this yet, do it today. --- ## Federal Primary Sources - **govinfo.gov (U.S. GPO)** ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/)) — Authenticated PDFs of the CFR, Federal Register, U.S. Code, and congressional records. Authentication matters when you're citing in a brief. - **eCFR** ([ecfr.gov](https://www.ecfr.gov/)) — The live, continuously updated Code of Federal Regulations. For historical versions, go back to govinfo.gov. - **Congress.gov** ([congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/)) — Bills, enacted laws, Congressional Record, committee reports. Your first stop for legislative history.

Only $7 until 6/30, then $47. What orientation doesn't tell you. How law school actually works: the real framework. Reading cases, outlining, and exam strategy. OCI and summer recruiting from day one. Mental health and the long game. Six days. Pre-recorded. Go at your own pace. Live Q&A to wrap up. Built around the 10,000-foot view; enough to understand the landscape, navigate it yourself, and know what questions to ask. Here: https://www.skool.com/509alpha/classroom

This category is for everything that happens after you get in. What belongs here: → 1L survival — case reading, outlining, the curve, exam strategy → OCI and summer recruiting — timelines, callbacks, what to do in your first semester → 2L and 3L questions — journal, moot court, clinic, externship → Bar prep — when to start, which course, how to structure the 10 weeks → Mental health and sustainability — the honest conversation → Life after graduation — bar results, job search, first year of practice A note on this community's value here: The people one year ahead of you have already solved the problem you're facing right now. The people three years ahead have perspective you can't get anywhere else. The attorneys in this community remember exactly what 1L felt like. Ask your question here. Someone knows the answer. And if you've been through it — share what you wish you'd known. The most valuable posts in this category will be from people who have already done what someone else is about to do. What do you know that you wish someone had told you?