Not everyone can afford to hire a lawyer immediately when something bad happens. Sometimes you need a little legal advice before you can even decide whether or not a lawyer is necessary. If you are thinking about going through a divorce, filing for bankruptcy, or you are wondering how to make a will or start a nonprofit, you can find free legal help online. Here are three sources for free legal information.

1. Legal research websites.
There are several research websites that you can access to read articles written by real lawyers, and guides to everything from creating a will, to workers compensation. Before you throw down a lot of money to get the counsel of a lawyer, you can use these websites to help you better understand the situation that you are in, and the potential legal outcomes

There is no use in skirting the issue, lawyers can be kind of expensive. If you find yourself in legal trouble, you know that you are going to have to spend some money in the process, probably more money than you can really afford to. However, did you know that you might be able to get free legal advice? There are several resources you can choose from! Here are three common avenues.

1. Legal research websites.
The internet is chock full of free legal information. Did you know that you can use a legal term dictionary to look up legal terms? If during the course of your research you do not understand something, these free dictionaries can probably help you understand law terminology better. These websites also often have free articles, written by lawyers, on a wide range of subjects. Eve

Since the O.J. Simpson murder trial of 1995, the media began to see the power and money making potential of televising every minute and analyzing ever word of sensational trials. Today, cable television networks routinely latch onto any case that they can blow up and over sensationalize. It seems that at any given moment, the national news media is covering no fewer than three cases, and repeating the details of “breaking stories” ad nauseum. If you are one of the few Americans who is not fascinated by 24 hour coverage of every sordid detail of the latest media court frenzy, you can at least find value in learning some new legal terminology. Let us be honest, regardless of your opinion of televised criminal trials, we have all watched them from time to time. Unless you hold a law degree, there were probably s

Are you thinking about going to law school? Whether you are just thinking about which schools you may like to attend or if you are in the midst of obtaining your law degree, there are specific aspects of your education that you need to maintain. One of these aspects is legal terminology, or the law terms that are utilized on a daily basis in legal proceedings. Legal terminology can be confusing and involved, but with the right amount of study and review, you can remain familiar with most legal terms that are used in court proceedings and everyday situations that arise within a law practice. Are you interested in starting your study of law terminology? If so, there are a variety of ways you can start to familiarize yourself with the most common legal terms, as well as resources you can commit to in order to maintain your knowledge of law terminology. While you can start your research on law terminology online, you may want to consider utilizing textbooks for your search. Dozens of retail booksellers as well as bookstores on the campuses of universities and law schools will house textbooks that contain many facets of law basics. In many cases, these kinds of textbooks will have sections that explain some of the basics of law terminology that every attorney or aspiring attorney should be familiar with. Some of this law terminology may pertain to the type or the area of law in which you are practicing; however, there are a variety of law terms that are also applicable to every facet of law. Reviewing these kinds of texts can help this type of law terminology become a crucial piece of your studies. If you are not sure which type of textbooks you should be consulting, consider asking the bookstore staff about some of the best textbooks to use if you want to familiarize yourself with basic law terminology. There are also multiple website options you can use to review law terminology. Some of these websites may be affiliated with specific universities or law schools, so if you are a current student, you may want to speak with professors or consult orientation packets to find out which websites you can use at no cost. You should try to take advantage of resources like these, since they may be able to provide invaluable information for all aspects of your education.

The law pertains to everyone, whether or not you understand the terms in which the law is written. This is why you should become familiar with the wide array of law terms which are used currently. Legal terminology can sound like a foreign language to most who did not go to school to study law. There are entire dictionaries published solely for legal terms and they burst at the binding due to the abundance of law terms in existence which span multiple languages. If you do not know law terminology, you are unable to know the law and, therefore, more likely to break it, even if you are unaware you are doing so. There are plenty of online sources to turn to if you wish to begin understanding these elusive law terms. Here, I will outline some of the more important, and commonly used words in the legal system. 1. Acquittal. This is the verdict of a jury which proclaims the defendant of a case not guilty, or that there is insufficient evidence to convict. 2. Affidavit. This is a written or printed statement made under oath, before a court of law. 3. Burden of Proof. One of the regularly used law terms, this is the duty to prove disputed facts in a case. 4. Counsel. This is the educated legal advise given either by a private attorney to a client, or a district attorney to one being represented. 5. De Facto. This is one of the many Latin law terms, and it translates into “in fact.” In fact meaning as a matter of empirical fact and not of law. 6. Habeus Corpus. Another Latin term meaning, “you have the body.” This is a doctrine which states that law enforcement officials are responsible for producing the the prisoner to court. Officials are also responsible for justifying continued confinement. 7. Interrogatories are a series of written questions which are to be written and answered under oath. 8. Plea. This is one of the law terms which pertains to whether the defendant of a criminal case is entering the case claiming to be guilty, or not guilty. 9. A Subpoena is a written command, under the courts authority, which is issued to an individual to appear and give testimony in court on a specific date. 10. A Writ is a written court order which instructs a person to take, or refrain from taking, a given act.

Understanding legal terminology has gotten easier over the years as the Internet has produced better and more comprehensive websites where all legal terms are explained and dissected and where anyone can look up these law terms and have the explanations right in front of them. Before the advent of the Internet, law students, practicing attorneys and people who just wanted to know more about law terminology would have to visit libraries and use book bound resources to keep them informed of this legal terminology. But today, that is definitely no longer the case, as Internet based sites have proved. Today, then, there are virtually no excuses left for people to say that they cannot possibly learn or get to information on legal terminology. The reasons have to be thrown out the window, now that there are independent sites that are solely there to explain these concepts and to give people more understanding of this legal terminology. These sites offer way more insight than the previously mentioned books do too, since they have live links where users can obtain even more information on these terms. And while some instantly think that this legal terminology is only useful for law students or for people in practice, it generally has benefits for the entire population at large. People get into car accidents all the time and should know their rights, and they can by looking them up via one of these resources. Others are sued for property damage or for someone slipping and falling on their property, and they have no prior experience with the law or with breaking it in any way. Through exploring the legal terminology that is thrown at them, these people can foster a much more explicit and positive understanding of what they are up against as they work through their own legal battles. People who are interested in possibly attending law school in the not too distant future also find themselves on a site that details legal terminology. This enables these people to get a greater grasp on whether they truly want to pursue career paths in the field of law. So contrary to popular belief, these sites are proving very useful both to the lawyers and law students out there who need it but also to the myriad others who find themselves at the mercy of the law or of the courts. These sites help them understand their own futures.

If you are a bit stymied by the legal terms that you may encounter on either side of a pending lawsuit, there are plenty of sites and paid professionals out there who can help you to translate most of this legal terminology into plain English. Law terms can be very confusing for many average people, but it does pay to know exactly what is going on as you go forward. A certified attorney should be able to explain the various pieces of law terminology to you without a problem, but many excellent websites can help you out with the definitions of various legal terms for free, should an attorney not be in your budget right now. In many cases, searching the web for the specific legal terms you wish to define, one at a time, is a great way to get a simple, direct answer fairly quickly and without any trouble. Make sure that the definition that you find matches the context in which you found the term for best results, and you should be just that much more knowledgeable in no time. In addition to the internet, most libraries have legal dictionaries that specifically translate legal terms into plain English as well, and a librarian should be able to help point you in the right direction if you are not sure where to look. If you still are confused as to what various documents and concepts mean after defining the various specific legal terms that have given you pause, you should consider speaking to a professional attorney about these matters. Many attorneys offer their services at a reduced rate for people of a certain income level or below, so it does pay to search the web for affordable legal advice if needed. With any luck, you should have a clear idea of what to expect from these legal matters going forward in no time!

Are you interested in learning law terminology? Law terms are useful to know whether you are going to be in the courtroom, or want to be a more active and educated participant in debates and discussions about modern courtroom decisions. Here are a few legal terms to get you started. What is an alternative dispute resolution, or ADR? This law terminology refers to a non binding procedure for settling disputes outside of the courtroom. They are often referrred to neutral third parties like arbitrators. This is fairly common for lawsuits and divorce. What is an automatic stay? This is an injunction that automatically stops collection activities, lawsuits, foreclosures et cetera against a debtor as soon as a bankruptcy petiton is filed. What is the burden of proof? This is the duty one has to prove a position. If you bring a case against someone, you have the burden of proving the case. If the government brings a criminal case against you, they have the burden of proving your guilt. What is Chapter 7? This refers to the seventh chapter of the Bankruptcy code, and it refers to liquidation of the property of the debtor in order to distribute the proceeds to creditors. A court decides if Chapter 7 applies to the debtor. What is hearsay? This is when a witness presents evidence they are not a first person witness to. In other words, usually things they have heard other people say about the crime rather than experienced themselves. What is jurisprudence? This legal terminology just refers to the study of the structure of the legal system and its laws. What is nolo contendere? This is law terminology for no contest. It means the individual will plead guilty for the purpose of the sentencing, but not as an admission of guilt in any other context. What is a plaintiff? A plaintiff is simply the person filing a formal complaint with the court. What is a precedent? A precedent is an earlier case with similar disputes and legal issues to the case in question. Decisions from earlier cases can be used to establish that in similar cases, the law has been resolved in a certain way. These are some basic but important law terminology that you should be familiar with.

Legal documents are rarely written using terms the average individual can understand. Most legal documents, whether it is talking about a divorce, child custody, or other legal matter, are filled with complex legal law terms. People who are looking to understand what the legal document is talking about can turn to several resources that can help them understand the meaning behind the complex legal terms that are used. The first resource that can be used in helping people understand complex law terms is the online legal community. There are many forums and websites that are dedicated to helping people understand complex legal terminology. These websites and forums often take complex law terms and explain them in a way the average individual with no prior law experience can understand. The explanations are usually given by experienced lawyers or paralegals that have come across these terms many times in their career. Most of these websites and forums cover the common legal terms that are used in various documents. If there is a complex law term that you don’t understand or don’t see covered on these websites and forums, there is usually a place where you can submit your own questions. The questions may or may not be answered depending upon how active the site is. Another resource that can be used to when trying to help people understand complex law terminology is a free legal advice group. Many cities and counties have free legal advice groups that are dedicated to helping individuals understand the complex world of law. These groups can help people understand the meaning behind some of the complex terms that are used in various legal documents. The language used in legal documents can often be hard to understand if you have not had previous experience in the legal industry. Using these resources can help you understand the meaning behind some of the most commonly used complex law terms.

If you decide to go to law school, learning legal terminology might be the least of your worries. Every college student knows how expensive textbooks are. After spending four years completing undergraduate studies, buying more textbooks will probably seem like a total drag. Ordering your text books for law terms online might be less expensive, but you are still going to end up spending a lot of money to learn legal terminology. When you are going to school to learn legal terminology your first year of law school will most likely be laid out for you. Instead of getting to pick your classes like you did for your undergrad, there are specific courses required that will teach you legal terms. Do not worry about setting up your schedule for your first year of learning law terminology. It is already done for you. When you are studying legal terminology in law school you will realize that your grades are curved. If you had a more difficult undergrad this is something you are probably already familiar with. Since law school is difficult, as well, there is usually a grading curve which can throw off students who work harder than others. They could get a very good grade and end up only getting a B. If you are taking classes and going to school to learn law terminology, be ready to spend and spend. Law school is not cheap, by any means, and being prepared for the costs is important. Taking out loans is probably necessary to complete your law school experience. When you decide to go to school to learn legal terminology, get ready to graduate and not immediately get a high paying job. It does not mean that you will never get one, but walking into fabulously paying entry level positions is difficult and there are slim chances that it will happen.