Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-nlwjb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-06T07:35:12.480Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Legal Research without Barriers: Free Legal Databases as Alternatives for Law Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2025

Raliat Alabi
Raliat Alabi*
Affiliation:
Raliat Alabi holds a PhD in Library and Information Science and a Degree in Law. She is the head of the Law Library, Fountain University , Osogbo, Nigeria. Email: raliatbola@gmail.com.
Get access

Abstract

In many developing countries, law students face challenges in accessing authoritative legal resources, including statutes, case law, and journal articles, due to the high costs of subscription-based databases such as LexisNexis, HeinOnline, and Westlaw. In Nigeria, additional subscription online resources are available, including LawPavilion, Legalpedia, and Compulaw. These platforms are all rich in content and currency; however, they are often unaffordable for both law students and law libraries. To overcome these challenges, there are many initiatives and movements administered by government institutions, universities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provide access to both primary and secondary sources of law. Included in the latter group are the Legal Information Institutes (LIIs), Google Scholar, the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), and Justia. This paper examines the role of free legal databases as an alternative for law students and how these freely accessible platforms can support the access gaps that subscription-based legal research tools have often created. The study is conceptual in nature, with reliance on existing literature and analysis of freely available legal information resources to support legal education.

Keywords

legal researchfree legal databaseslaw studentslegal educationlegal information accessLIIsNigeria

Information

Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Legal Information , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , Summer 2025 , pp. 148 - 154
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by International Association of Law Libraries

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

1 Huffman, James, “Legal Education and the Rule of Law,” California Western Law Review 60, no. 3 (2024): 1–37 Google Scholar, https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/cwlr/vol60/iss3/4.

2 Sazzad Hossain Sourov, “A Critical Examination of Faruque’s Perspective on Legal Research,” Asia Law Portal, Nov. 17, 2024, https://asialawportal.com/a-critical-examination-of-faruques-perspective-on-legal-research.

3 Alayoku, Abayomi Anthony and Akinola, Faith Modupe, “Technology and Legal Education in Nigeria: Marital Bliss or Blow?,” Kampala International University Law Journal 5, no. 2 (Nov. 2023): 258–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar, https://www.kiulj.kiu.ac.ug/.

4 LexisNexis: Legal & Professional Solutions and News, RELX Group, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.lexisnexis.com/.

5 Westlaw Legal Research, Thomson Reuters, accessed July 8, 2025, https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/westlaw.

6 HeinOnline, William S. Hein & Co., “What Is HeinOnline?,” accessed July 8, 2025, https://home.heinonline.org/.

7 Opeyemi “Ope” Olugasa, “LawPavilion Takes Legal Research, Law Reports to WhatsApp,” The Guardian (Nigeria), Feb. 9, 2021.

8 Legalpedia Online, “What’s Inside Legalpedia Online?” Legalpedia Nigeria Ltd., accessed July 8, 2025, https://legalpediaonline.com/oto-legalpedia-online/.

9 Compulaw—1st Indigenous Digital Law Library, accessed July 8, 2025, https://compulaw.net/.

10 Ishaq Obashola Apalando, Legal Tech in Nigeria: Applications and Implications (An Independent Report), Academia.edu (Aug. 2019), https://www.academia.edu/40034923/Legal_Tech_in_Nigeria_Applications_and_Implications_An_Independent_Report.

11 Alex Zhang and James Hart, “Sustainable and Open Access to Valuable Legal Research Information: A New Framework,” Law Library Journal 111, no. 2 (2019): 229–53, https://www.aallnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LLJ_111n2_03_zhang_hart.pdf.

12 Carroll, Michael W., “The Movement for Open Access Law,” Lewis & Clark Law Review 10, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 741–60Google Scholar, https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/wps/art50/.

13 John, Bamgbose Oludayo and Omidiji, Temiloluwa, “Sustaining the Open‑Access Regime through the Legal Information Institutes: A Success Story,” International Journal of Legal Information 52, no. 2 (Summer 2024): 147–54Google Scholar, https://doi.org/10.1017/jli.2024.31.

14 Greenleaf, Graham, Mowbray, Andrew, and Chung, Philip, “The Meaning of ‘Free Access to Legal Information’: A Twenty‑Year Evolution,” Journal of Open Access to Law 1, no. 1 (2013): 1–36 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, https://ojs.law.cornell.edu/index.php/joal/article/view/11.

15 Cornell Law School, “Welcome to LII | Legal Information Institute,” Legal Information Institute, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.law.cornell.edu/.

16 Mowbray, Andrew, Chung, Philip, and Greenleaf, Graham, “Utilising AI in the Legal Assistance Sector—Testing a Role for Legal Information Institutes,” Computer Law & Security Review 38 (Sep. 2020): Article 105407CrossRefGoogle Scholar, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2020.105407.

17 Arewa, Olufunmilayo B., “Open Access in a Closed Universe: Lexis, Westlaw, Law Schools, and the Legal Information Market,” Lewis & Clark Law Review 10, no. 4 (2006): 797–839 Google Scholar, https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/9585-lcb104arewapdf.

18 Ndamungu, Omari Issa, “The Montreal Declaration on Free Access to Law (MDFAL) of 2002: A Weak Reed for Global Realization of the Right to Access Legal Information,” Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization 1 (Jan. 31, 2021): 63–74 Google Scholar, https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JLPG/article/view/55416.

19 Budapest Open Action Initiative, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read/.

20 Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, accessed July 8, 2025, https://openaccess.mpg.de/Berlin-Declaration.

21 See Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship | Duke University School of Law, accessed July 8, 2025, https://law.duke.edu/lib/durhamstatement#Durham-Statement-on-Open-Access-to-Legal-Scholarship.

22 See International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, IFLA Statement on Government Provision of Public Legal Information in the Digital Age, endorsed by the IFLA Governing Board, 13 Dec. 2016, https://www.ifla.org/files/assets/clm/statements/ifla-statement-on-public-legal-information-and-annex.pdf.

23 Montreal Declaration on Free Access to Law | CanLII, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.canlii.org/info/mtldeclaration.html.

24 Peter Martin and Thomas R. Bruce, “The Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School,” Oct. 1999, https://hdl.handle.net/1813/60492.

25 Greenleaf, Graham, “The Global Development of Free Access to Legal Information,” European Journal of Law and Technology 1, no. 1 (2010): 42–70 Google Scholar. https://ejlt.org/index.php/ejlt/article/view/17.

26 See British and Irish Legal Information Institute, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.bailii.org/.

27 Pompeu Casanovas and Enric Plaza, “Advancing an Open Access Publication Model for Legal Information Institutes,” in AI Approaches to the Complexity of Legal Systems, International Workshop AICOL-III, held as Part of the 25th IVR Congress, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Aug. 15–16, 2011, eds. Monica Palmirani, Giovanni Sartor, and Bart Verheij (2012), at 171–88, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35731-2_12.

28 Perham, Elisabeth Rose, review of Legal Systems of the Pacific: Introducing Sixteen Gems , eds. Jennifer Corrin and Tony Angelo, Comparative Law Journal of the Pacific, vol. 27 (2022): 227–32Google Scholar, https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/law/research/publications/about-nzacl/publications/cljpjdcp-journals/volume-27-2022/16-BR-Perham.pdf.

29 Badeva‑Bright, Mariya and Badejogbin, Oluwatoyin, “Free Access to the Law in Africa,” in Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals: Perspectives from Judges and Lawyers in Southern Africa on Promoting Rule of Law and Equal Access to Justice, eds. Meerkotter, Anneke and Walton, Tyler, Southern African Litigation Centre (2016), 146–55Google Scholar, https://www.southernafricalitigationcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/GOAL-16-Book-Badeva.pdf.

30 Beatty, John R., “Open Access without Open Access Values: The State of Free and Open Access to Law Reviews,” Law Library Journal 115 (2023): 41–122 Google Scholar, https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/law_librarian_articles/53.

31 Poulin, Daniel, “Open Access to Law in Developing Countries,” First Monday 9, no. 12 (Dec. 6, 2004): 121–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar, https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v9i12.1193.

32 Olugasa, Olubukola and Davies, Abimbola, “Remote Court Proceedings in Nigeria: Justice Online or Justice on the Line,” International Journal for Court Administration 13, no. 2 (2022)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, https://iacajournal.org/articles/10.36745/ijca.448.

33 Agba Eimunjeze, “Technology as a Tool for Enhancing Legal Services and Delivery of Justice in Nigeria,” Mondaq (May 14, 2024), https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/it-and-internet/1465138/.

34 Martín‑Martín, Alberto, Costas, Rodrigo, van Leeuwen, Thed, and Delgado López‑Cózar, Emilio, “Evidence of Open Access of Scientific Publications in Google Scholar: A Large‑Scale Analysis,” Journal of Informetrics 12, no. 3 (2018): 819–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2018.06.012.

35 See https://www.justia.com/international-law/, accessed July 18, 2025.

36 Anderson, Brian D., “FindLaw.com Founders Discuss Entrepreneurship and FindLaw’s Future,” UC Davis Business Law Journal 1, no. 1 (Feb. 2001): 2Google Scholar, https://blj.ucdavis.edu/archives/1/1/findlawcom-founders-discuss-entrepreneurship-and-findlaws-future.

37 Legal Scholarship Network, SSRN, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.ssrn.com/index.cfm/en/lsn/.

38 New York Law School Mendik Library, Free Legal Dictionaries and Encyclopedias - Low-Cost and Free Legal Research Guide, accessed July 8, 2025, https://libguides.nyls.edu/lowcostlegalresearch/freedict.

39 Congress.gov, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.congress.gov.

40 GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.govinfo.gov/.

41 Gov.uk, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.gov.uk.

42 The National Archives, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/.

43 Justice Laws Website, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/index.html.

44 Federal Register of Legislation, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.legislation.gov.au.

45 Eur-Lex, accessed July 8, 2025, https://eur-lex.europa.eu; CURIA - Search form, accessed July 8, 2025, https://curia.europa.eu/juris/recherche.jsf?language=en.

46 Supreme Court of India, accessed July 8, 2025, https://main.sci.gov.in.

47 Federal Ministry of Justice, accessed July 8, 2025, https://www.justice.gov.ng.