CourtListener

CourtListener is a free, open-source legal research platform operated by Free Law Project, a non-profit based in Oakland, CA (25 employees, 2,192 LinkedIn followers). Contains millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts, PACER documents via the RECAP Archive, oral arguments, and judge information. Also operates RECAP (browser extension that makes PACER documents free for others) and bots.law (judicial financial disclosure database). Own subreddit r/freelawproject. Recommended in Fordham Law LibGuide as an alternative legal research platform. Actively recommended by practitioners on Reddit (r/Lawyertalk, r/Ask_Lawyers) as a free alternative to PACER and Westlaw. Capterra listing exists. Mission: make the legal sector more equitable and competitive through free access to legal information.

Who It’s For

• Solo and small firm attorneys who need case law research without $300-500/month Westlaw/Lexis subscriptions
• Legal aid organizations and pro bono attorneys who can’t afford commercial research tools
• Any practitioner who wants to search federal court filings without PACER’s per-page costs
• Journalists and researchers needing access to court records

What We Haven’t Verified

• Coverage is not comprehensive — RECAP only has documents that someone has previously downloaded through PACER
• Case law coverage varies significantly by jurisdiction
• No AI-powered case analysis features (unlike Westlaw Edge or CoCounsel)
• No citator equivalent to Shepard’s or KeyCite
• No formal support or SLA — it’s a non-profit community project
• API terms for commercial use not independently verified