#WhyIAmASolo - I Don't Need Big Law And A Big Budget To Be A Lawyer.

Google Scholar. When I was growing up as a lawyer, the biggest expense for my law practice was a law library of Florida cases, and the pocket parts that kept them up to date. I still have a room in the office dedicated to housing hundreds of printed law books. I haven't the heart to get rid of them, and the room doubles as a conference room. The books look pretty; but, are completely useless to me as a place to find out what the law is. This brings me to the present, in which all law is contained in computer servers somewhere, and accessible via artificial intelligence engines which are better at ferreting out useful precedent that I ever was. Google Scholar contains a search engine and access to just about every case ever decided, and is free to anyone. As a basic case finder, it is as good as any paid for service out there. There are other great free legal research sites, of course. But, legal research materials are no longer a cost barrier to the solo lawyer, or any lawyer or citizen, for that matter. Love the tech giants, or hate them, never doubt that they are responsible for the level playing field that a solo lawyer can use to compete against anyone.