The Free Law Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public access to the American legal system through open data, free legal research tools, and innovative technology. Its mission is to make court records, judicial opinions, and legal information accessible to everyone, helping create a more transparent and accountable judicial system. The organization serves journalists, attorneys, researchers, educators, students, watchdog organizations, and citizens who need reliable access to primary legal documents.
One of the organization’s most valuable resources is CourtListener, a comprehensive legal research platform that provides free access to millions of federal and state court opinions, court dockets, oral argument recordings, judicial financial disclosures, and legal filings. This extensive database allows users to search court records, follow active litigation, research judges, and monitor significant legal developments without relying on expensive commercial legal research services.
The RECAP Project further expands public access by creating a free archive of federal court documents obtained through the PACER system. As users retrieve documents from PACER, copies are added to a growing public repository, allowing future researchers to access many of those same records without additional fees. This collaborative approach has helped build one of the largest freely available collections of federal court filings in the United States.
In addition to maintaining these powerful research tools, the Free Law Project develops open source software, offers APIs for developers and researchers, supports legal scholarship, and advocates for greater transparency within the judicial system. Its resources are widely used by investigative journalists, nonprofit organizations, civic advocates, legal professionals, historians, and academic researchers seeking trustworthy primary source documentation.
For anyone investigating government accountability, public officials, civil litigation, regulatory actions, or constitutional issues, the Free Law Project is an essential resource. By making legal information freely available, the organization empowers the public to better understand the courts, monitor important cases, and conduct evidence based research using authentic legal records.