Clio Blog: “Legal research is one of the most challenging aspects of the legal profession. In the digital era, it is also a task that cannot be adequately performed without a legal search engine of some kind. Although there are numerous commercially-available research platforms, Google Scholar case law continues to be a valuable legal resource available to lawyers, law students, and the general public, free of charge. The key to effective use of Google Scholar for legal research is knowing its strengths and limitations. Here we delve into how Google Scholar case law works and how best to utilize it...When opening Google Scholar, you are provided an option to select either “articles” or “case law” for your search database. The articles option provides access to scholarly articles, while the case law option allows you to search for judicial opinions from numerous federal and state courts. After selecting the case law option, you can input search terms just as you would with a typical Google search. The platform allows you to restrict your search to federal courts or the state courts in your jurisdiction. Alternatively, you can proceed to the “Select courts” screen, where you can choose a custom selection of state and federal courts at various levels. This allows the user to narrow down a court search dramatically. For example, you can target a search to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, the Nevada Supreme Court, or the Fifth District Bankruptcy Courts…”