Department Catalog
Legal Research
Finding Information About Law and the Legal System
Online Legal Dictionaries
http://dictionary.law.com/
http://www.wwlia.org/diction.htm
You can find plain language definitions of legal words and phrases as well as concise summaries of various areas of law on these sites.
Finding a Lawyer
http://www.lacba.org/
http://www.vcba.org/
http://www.lawoffice.com/direct/direct.asp
Links to the lawyer referral services of the Los Angeles and Ventura County Bar Associations, as well as to a nationwide directory of lawyers.
Lexis Legal Research
http://www.lexisone.com/
A free legal research site for cases, statutes, and legal forms.
Findlaw Legal Research
http://lawcrawler.findlaw.com/
A free legal research site for government offices, cases, statutes, bar associations, and legal forms.
California Self-Help Center
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp
Help citizens find legal assistance, learn about California Law, work better with an attorney, and represent themselves in legal matters.
Nolo Legal Encyclopedia
http://www.nolo.com/encyclopedia/index.html
You can find plain language information on a variety of legal topics at this site.
Freeadvice.com
http://www.freeadvice.com/
Another website with understandable information about legal rights and issues.
Cornell Legal Information Institute
http://www.law.cornell.edu/
This is a good portal site for doing legal research and finding actual cases and statutes, as well as links to government and court websites.
LLRX.com Legal Research
http://www.freeadvice.com/
One of the most comprehensive websites for finding legal information and links to a variety of helpful websites.
Lawguru.com
http://www.lawguru.com/
This is another portal site for online legal research, finding a lawyer, and links to legal information.
Legalengine.com
http://www.legalengine.com/
This is another portal site for online legal research, finding a lawyer, and links to legal information.
Famous Court Trials
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm
The site includes trial transcripts, images, historical background information, and social and historical commentary surrounding a number of well-known trials.
Los Angeles and Ventura County Bar Associations
http://www.lacba.org/
http://www.vcba.org/
These are local Los Angeles area bar association websites, where you can link to other useful legal information.
California State Bar
http://www.calbar.org/
The California State Bar makes available educational pamphlets on a variety of consumer topics, including: how to find a lawyer, small claims court, divorce and custody, renting, arrest, automobile accidents, debtor rights, and domestic violence.
Los Angeles Superior Court
http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/
Information about the Los Angeles Superior Court, including jury service, fees, pending cases, bail, court rules, court forms, and similar resources is available at the Court's website.
melanie.williams@csun.edu