Law and Legal Help
Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Wex is a free legal dictionary and encyclopedia sponsored and hosted by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University Law School. Wex entries are collaboratively created and edited by legal experts. Entries in Wex are also available in Spanish.
Law.com's dictionary lets you look up a term to find its definition, or find definitions that include a specific word.
Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries
Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries provide free legal information at fifteen county courthouses across the state. Any resident of Massachusetts can obtain a TCLL library card, visit any library location, borrow circulating books, use legal databases, and get help from law librarians in person, or by chat, text, or email [provide links to chat and text, email]. You can contact a law library by text at 617-674-1455 Monday-Friday, or in person at your local law library.
The TCLL website is open to all and can help you get started researching laws on a wide variety of topics. The site has an A-Z overview of laws by topic and popular name, and also includes full text of the General Laws (MGL), Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR), easy navigation to a lot of case law, links to forms.
Legal Forms via the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries
Locations, hours, and other information on the Trial Court Law Libraries
More Resources for Legal Research
Here are some helpful guides:
- How to Research a Legal Problem for Non-Lawyers (American Association of Law Libraries)
- Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Cornell University Legal Information Institute)
- Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual (Columbia University)
- Law.gov Library of Congress Guide to Law Online includes good information on laws of all the states, as well as federal, foreign, and international law.
- The State Library of Massachusetts is open to the public and has an extensive collection of Massachusetts law resources, including statutes and legislative materials, administrative law and judicial reports. Third floor, Massachusetts State House. Open Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. Call them at 617.727.2590.