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Legal Information Institute

law.cornell.edu

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Spec score 7.5 #18 of 31 in Legal Research Software

What it is

Legal Information Institute (LII) is a free web resource publishing legal information and explanatory material for the public. Its collections include the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules. LII enriches government-published data by identifying, extracting, annotating, indexing, and presenting its features. Explanatory offerings include Wex, Supreme Court Bulletin previews, and case summaries in the Gender Justice Collection. Users can search case law and statutes and regulations, read commentary, and use citation tools. Read It Online accepts a formal case citation and returns links to free and paid judicial-opinion resources. Introduction to Basic Legal Citation is a free Bluebook alternative maintained by co-founder Peter Martin. Regulations from all 50 states and Washington, DC receive enhanced functionality. Coverage includes U.S. federal law, all states, and selected world law. The Free access plan costs nothing. LII does not provide legal advice or personalized research help.

Spec sheet

Purpose
LII publishes law online for free and creates materials to help people understand it.Read 4 Oct 2026 · law.cornell.edu
Audience
LII describes its work as making legal information more findable and understandable for the public.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Headquarters
Ithaca, New York, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · law.cornell.edu
Founded
1992Read 28 Sep 2026 · law.cornell.edu
Citation resolver
Read It Online lets users enter a formal case citation to get hyperlinks to free and paid resources for judicial opinions.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Enriched legal data
LII identifies, extracts, annotates, indexes, and presents features in government-published legal data.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Explanatory content
LII creates original materials including Wex, Supreme Court Bulletin previews, and case summaries in its Gender Justice Collection.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Legal citation guide
Introduction to Basic Legal Citation is a free alternative to the Bluebook and is maintained by LII co-founder Professor Peter Martin.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Legal collections
The site provides collections including the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, state regulations, Supreme Court opinions, and federal rules.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Licensing
Special licensing or redistribution terms can be requested through the permissions category in LII's contact form.Read 4 Oct 2026 · law.cornell.edu
Payments
LII says it does not sell products or services through the website, and PayPal collects donation credit card numbers rather than LII.Read 4 Oct 2026 · law.cornell.edu
Privacy and security
LII says it takes steps to safeguard personally identifiable information but cannot guarantee electronic data will never be accessed or released inconsistently with its policy.Read 4 Oct 2026 · law.cornell.edu
State regulations
LII makes regulations from all 50 states plus Washington, DC available with enhanced features and functionality.Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu
Support limit
LII cannot provide legal advice, interpretations of law, or personalized help with legal research or school projects.Read 4 Oct 2026 · law.cornell.edu
Technical help
Users can report site problems through the contact form, and LII says most problems with dysfunctional scripts or software are fixed right away.Read 4 Oct 2026 · law.cornell.edu

Plans and prices

Free access Free Legal information and collections available to the public free of charge Read 4 Oct 2026 · about.law.cornell.edu

Every Legal Information Institute plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free access to major U.S. legal collections
  • Searches case law, statutes, and regulations
  • Explanatory content includes Wex and case summaries
  • Citation resolver links to opinion resources
  • Enhanced regulations for all 50 states and Washington, DC

Limits

  • No personalized legal advice or research help
  • Free trial is not offered
  • Some linked judicial-opinion resources may be paid

Who it suits

LII suits members of the public, students, and researchers seeking freely accessible U.S. legal materials and explanations. It is not a source of personalized legal advice.

Verdict

LII provides broad, free legal collections alongside commentary and citation tools. Its coverage and search features are substantial, but users must handle legal interpretation themselves.

Where Specifiction places it

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