Legal Research

Legal Research searches public case law, legislation, and regulatory sources through one tool. Case search supports the US, UK, India, Germany, Canada, and Netherlands; legislation and regulatory skills have their own country coverage.

What you can do

Search court decisions by topic, country, court, and date
Look up US case metadata, snippets, and source URLs
Explore citing and cited cases in supported citation networks
Search legislation, US federal regulations, Congressional and state bills
Look up public RECAP dockets, judge profiles, and agency records

Source coverage and limits

US case search and details return snippets, not complete opinion text. UK, Canadian, and Dutch search results can have empty excerpts; open the source URL to read the judgment. Citation links are not Shepard's or KeyCite treatment. Coverage varies by source and court. See the public legal sources guide.

How to use it

Run search_cases with a country code and query
Use case_details with a US CourtListener cluster ID or citation for metadata, a snippet, and the source URL
Open the source document and verify the relevant passage
Use citation_analysis for citation links or search_legislation for statutory research

Access

Skills are free on ToolRouter. Some sources require an API key, and access and rate limits depend on the provider account. Assistant subscriptions are separate. An unavailable source is not proof that no relevant case exists.

Search Case Lawfree

Search court opinions across jurisdictions. US, UK, India, Germany, Canada, Netherlands. Set country param to route (default: US). Returns case names, courts, dates, citations, excerpts.

Returns: Case names, courts, dates, citations, excerpts, and URLs

Case Detailsfree

Get full details for a specific court case by its CourtListener cluster ID or citation string. Returns the full case name, court, filing date, all citations, opinion text excerpt, and citation count.

Returns: Full case name, court, date, all citations, opinion excerpt, and citation count

Citation Analysisfree

Analyze citation networks for a court case — find what it cites and what cites it. Supports US (CourtListener) and Canadian (CanLII) cases. For US, provide case_id or citation. For Canada, provide case_id, database_id, and country=CA.

Returns: Citation counts, list of citing cases, and list of cited cases with metadata

Search Legislationfree

Search statutes and legislation across jurisdictions. UK, US, EU (default: all three), Germany, Japan, Canada, Poland, Sweden. Set country param to filter.

Returns: Legislation titles, types, dates, summaries, and URLs grouped by jurisdiction

Legislation Detailsfree

Get full details for a specific piece of legislation by its identifier. UK: "ukpga/2018/12". US: Federal Register doc number "2025-23783". EU: CELEX number "32016R0679".

Returns: Full legislation title, description, sections/contents, dates, and links to full text

Search Regulations (CFR)free

Search the Code of Federal Regulations — all 50 CFR titles covering every US federal regulation. Updated daily. Returns CFR references, section headings, and regulation text excerpts.

Returns: CFR references (e.g. "40 CFR § 50.1"), headings, excerpts, and eCFR URLs

Search Rulemakingfree

Search federal rulemaking documents, proposed rules, and public comments on Regulations.gov. Covers all federal agencies (EPA, FDA, DOL, etc.). Find rules, notices, and comment periods.

Returns: Document IDs, titles, agencies, types, posted dates, docket IDs, comment status, and Regulations.gov URLs

Search Statutes (US Code)free

Search the United States Code — all codified federal statutory law. Also searches public laws and Statutes at Large via GovInfo. Returns statute titles, citations, and links to full text.

Returns: Statute titles, package IDs, download links, and GovInfo URLs

Search Congressional Billsfree

Search US Congressional bills, resolutions, and enacted laws. Browse current and historical sessions, filter by bill type.

Returns: Bill numbers, titles, sponsors, latest actions, and congress.gov URLs

Search State Billsfree

Search legislative bills across all 50 US states, DC, and Puerto Rico. Find state-level bills, resolutions, and legislative activity.

Returns: Bill identifiers, titles, states, chambers, sessions, and Open States URLs

Search Docketsfree

Search PACER/RECAP federal court dockets and filings. Access millions of federal district, appellate, and bankruptcy court filings from the RECAP archive.

Returns: Case names, courts, docket numbers, filing dates, and CourtListener URLs

Search Judgesfree

Search judicial profiles — US federal and state judges with appointment details, courts, political affiliations, and biographical information.

Returns: Judge names, courts, appointment details, political affiliations, and profile URLs

Search FDA Datafree

Search FDA drug labels, adverse events, and device recalls via openFDA. Covers prescription drugs, OTC medications, medical device safety data.

Returns: Drug label details, adverse event reports, or device recall information from FDA databases

Search EPA Enforcementfree

Search EPA enforcement and compliance data for regulated facilities. Covers Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and RCRA violations, inspections, and penalties.

Returns: Facility names, addresses, compliance status, violations, penalties, and inspection history

Search Vehicle Safetyfree

Search NHTSA vehicle safety recalls by make, model, year, or keyword. Covers all manufacturer safety recalls with defect descriptions and remedies.

Returns: Recall campaign numbers, components, defect summaries, consequences, and remedies

Information

Price: Free
CourtListener API Token: API token for CourtListener; access and rate limits depend on the provider account and agreement
CanLII API Key: API key for CanLII (Canadian case law and legislation)
Congress.gov API Key: API key for Congress.gov — get a free key at api.data.gov
GovInfo API Key: API key for GovInfo (US Code, public laws) — get a free key at api.data.gov
Open States API Key: API key for Open States (state legislation)
IndianKanoon API Token: API token for IndianKanoon (Indian case law)
Regulations.gov API Key: API key for Regulations.gov (federal rulemaking documents)

Guides using Legal Research

Harvey alternatives for public legal researchCompare Harvey, licensed legal databases, and public-source research in Claude. Public excerpts are not Shepard's or full-text reporters.
Public legal data sourcesJurisdiction map of the public legal sources Legal Research actually queries, including snippet limits and which skills need keys.
Public-source legal research in ClaudeSearch public US and UK opinions in Claude with Legal Research. You get snippets and source URLs, not a Lexis or Westlaw citator.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I search cases in a specific country?

`search_cases` supports the US, UK, India, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands. Set `country` to route the query.

What do I need for the full opinion text?

Use `case_details` with a CourtListener cluster ID or a citation string to get the case name, court, date, citations, and excerpt.

Can I see what a case cites and who cites it?

`citation_analysis` maps the citation network for US and Canadian cases so you can trace precedent and follow-on treatment.

Does this include statutes and regulations too?

Yes. Use `search_legislation`, `search_cfr`, `search_regulations`, `search_fda`, `search_epa`, `search_vehicle_safety`, `search_statutes`, `search_congress`, `search_state_bills`, `search_dockets`, or `search_judges` depending on the source you need.