Legal Links

Pro Bono Opportunities

• Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) 
  MVLS provides free or reduced fee representation to low-income individuals who have civil legal problems throughout Maryland.
• Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland (PBRC)
  As the pro bono arm of the MSBA, PBRC is a statewide nonprofit organization that provides support, training, and advocacy for volunteer attorneys and legal services organizations, and incubates pro bono projects which give free civil legal help to low-income Marylanders.

Gatekeeper

• FAQs on the Gatekeeper Initiative and Voluntary Good Practices Guidance [PDF]
• The ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession
  The ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession has worked with other entities to develop voluntary good practices guidance for lawyers to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The Task Force has concerns about how mandatory gatekeeper provisions might affect confidential attorney-client relationships and other issues. Below are two publications from the ABA Task Force. Publication here does not constitute the position of or an endorsement by the Maryland State Bar Association.
• Voluntary Good Practices Guidance for Lawyers to Detect and Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing [PDF]

Law Schools and Law School Libraries

• AffordableColleges.com Guide to Colleges for LGBTQ Students
  Choosing a college is a daunting task for any first-time student, but for LGBTQ students, it can be downright terrifying. A whopping 13.4% of LGBTQ high school students who report frequent verbal harassment plan on not attending college, and 20% of all currently enrolled college students report fearing for their physical safety due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. In response, many universities are taking steps to fight back for their most vulnerable students, but understanding what to look for in a school is still difficult, which is why we created our guide to college for LGBTQ students. This isn’t just a list of scholarships (although we have those too!). Our guide includes actionable strategies to assess a school on its inclusivity and programs to help make the transition to college easier for LGBTQ students. AffordableColleges.com believe that no college student should fear for their safety based on their gender identity or sexual orientation, and we want to connect LGBTQ students with the information and scholarships they need to find the institution with their best interests at heart.
• Chicago Kent – ITT School of Law
• Cornell Law School’s Legal Info Institute
  A not-for-profit group that believes everyone should be able to read and understand the laws that govern them, without cost.
• JURIST
  JURIST (http://jurist.org) is a web-based legal news and real-time legal research service powered by a mostly-volunteer team of over 60 part-time law student reporters, editors and Web developers led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.JURIST is produced as a public service for the continuing legal education of its readers and law student staffers, and uses the latest Internet technology to track important legal news stories and materials and present them rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in a widely-accessible format.
• University of Baltimore School of Law
• University of Maryland School of Law

Maryland Court and Government Sites

• COMAR On-Line: Division of State Documents
  This site will allow you to view the online version of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR),  Contract Weekly, the Maryland Register, and in the future, other State agency documents that DSD will maintain for those agencies.
• Comptroller of the Treasury State of Maryland 
  The Comptroller’s Office is dedicated to carrying out its duties and responsibilities equitably, effectively and efficiently; to providing excellent service while treating Maryland taxpayers fairly and courteously; to responsibly managing public integrity of Maryland’s finances and the excellence of Maryland’s fiscal reputation.
• DLLR Electronic Licensing
  Licensing queries
• Maryland Archives
  The Maryland State Archives is the historical agency for Maryland and serves as the central depository for government records of permanent value. Records date from the founding of the colony in 1634 to the 1990s. Included in the Archives’ holdings are colonial and state executive, legislative, and judicial records; county probate, land and court records; church records; business records; publications and reports of state, county and municipal governments; and special collections of private papers, maps, photographs, and newspapers.
• Maryland Attorney General’s Office
  The main functions of the Office of the Attorney General are to have general charge, supervision and direction of the legal business of the State and to act as legal advisor and representative of the major departments, various boards, commissions, officials and institutions of State Government.
• Maryland Attorney Grievance Committee
• Maryland Code
  Provided by Lexis-Nexis
• Maryland Judiciary
  Includes Court opinions.
• Maryland Manual On-Line: A Guide to Maryland Government
  Updated daily, the Maryland Manual On-Line provides important information about Maryland State, county and municipal government.
• Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings
• Maryland Opinions of the Attorney General 
  Coverage back to 94-001.  Opinions not published in hardbound volumes are available.  Listed in order with synopses.
• Maryland Professionalism Center
  The Maryland Professionalism Center serves as the hub of professionalism efforts in Maryland.  Created by the Court of Appeals, the Center’s mission is to support and encourage members of the Judiciary to exhibit the highest levels of professionalism and to support and encourage lawyers to exercise the highest levels of professional integrity in their relationships with their clients, other lawyers, the courts, and the public to fulfill their obligations to improve the law and the legal system. (Mentoring, Professionalism Courses, & more)
• Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct
  hosted on Lexis Nexis
• Maryland State Homepage
• Maryland State Law Library
  Some county and municipal codes available.  Executive orders, proclamations.  Links to other legal resources.
• Real Property Search
  Real Property database from the Maryland State Department of Assessment and Taxation
• Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure
  Includes new disciplinary rules.
• State Department of Assessments and Taxation
  UCC filings.  Maryland’s “Largest Source of Real Estate Data”.  Maryland Business Entity System – name information, agents & personal property assessment.
• The Orphan’s Court of Baltimore County
• Workers’ Compensation Commission
  This site includes information about their agency as well as the WCC’s Hearing Schedule.

Federal Court and Government Sites

• Fed Government IRS – Abusive Tax Scheme Tool Kits
• Fedworld Information Network
  FedWorld was established by The National Technical Information Service (NTIS), an agency of the U.S Department of Commerce, to serve as the online locator service for a comprehensive inventory of information disseminated by the Federal Government.
• Government Printing Office
  Vast amount of executive, legislative and judicial, regulatory and administrative information available. Links to Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Congressional Record.
• House of Representatives Law Library
• Internal Revenue Code
  Cross-reference between sections with a mouse click.
• Internal Revenue Service
  Home page of IRS, includes forms and instructions for downloading.
• The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• THOMAS
  Current Federal Legislative Information.  Maintained by the Library of Congress.  Current Legislation with status, roll call votes, access to bills by Public Law #.
• Treasury Department
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Maryland
• U.S. Federal Courts Home Page
• U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
• Uniform Commercial Codes (UCC)
• United States Code
  Searchable by keyword and includes tax laws

Legal Information Sites

• ABA Center Of Professional Responsibility
  Ethics section includes the full text of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, annotated with comments and comparisons to the Model Code.
• American College of Trial Lawyer’s US Codes of Pre-Trial and Trial Conduct 
• Amicus Curiarum
  This and other Maryland Court publications are now available on-line.
• Association of Legal Administrators (MD Chapter)
  A list of their past and present events
• Legal Aid Bureau, Inc.
• Legal Research Resources – LexisNexis
• LegalEthics.com
  LegalEthics.com is devoted to helping legal professionals understand the unique ethical issues raised by the Internet.
• Maryland Family Law Forms
• Maryland IOLTA Honor Roll
• Maryland Legal Services Corporation
  The MLSC Web Site is a part of an initiative to provide information to interested persons and organizations about legal resources for low and moderate income families in Maryland.  This web site provides a central location for MLSC grantees to post job announcements, training events and other matters of interest to their colleagues.
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy
  NITA believes all people are entitled to quality legal representation by skilled and ethical lawyers. NITA’s mission is to provide the best possible training in legal advocacy skills and techniques for resolving legal disputes and to foster professionally responsible behavior emphasizing ethics, candor, civility, and judicial economy.
• National Organization of Bar Counsel
  The highlight of NOBC’s site is its semi-annual compilation of ethics cases
• The Courtroom Information Project
  Designed to give courtroom participants the visual and technological information they need in preparing for trial in any participating courtroom in the United States via the web. The website features the technological capabilities of each of the participating courtrooms in the U.S. at both the state and federal level as well as accompanying photographs of each courtroom.
• The National Association of Legal Administrators
• The Online Paralegal Program Project
  Seeks to provide a comprehensive look at the legal system, with the goal to promote the growth, professional standing and advancement of paralegal professionals.
• The Peoples Law Library
  For legal and self-help information tailored to Maryland residents, visit  www.peoples-law.org, a website supported by Maryland’s non-profit legal services providers, in partnership with the courts, as a service to the public.

Miscellaneous

• Citizen and Law Related Education Program
  The Citizenship Law-Related Education Program for the Schools of Maryland (CLREP) was established in 1975 to promote law-related education in public and private schools. Over the years, CLREP has strived to develop programs that educate kids about the law through “hands-on” experience.
• ABYZ News Links
  contains links to more than 16,600 newspapers and other news sources from around the world.
• Child Support Enforcement Home Page
• Maryland Entrepreneur’s Guide
  A concise guide to federal and Maryland financing and support programs for emerging companies brought to you by the Guide’s Original Contributors.
• Newspapers
  List of all types of newspapers.
• RefDesk.com
  More information than you could need or want.
• State and Local Governments on the Net
  This is a Piper Resource Guide to State and Local Government Resources on the Internet.
• The Capital Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators
• U.S. Department of Justice
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Other Bar Associations

• American Association for Justice
  As the world’s largest trial bar, AAJ promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims’ rights–particularly the right to trial by jury–and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety.
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• American Bar Association
  The largest voluntary professional association in the world.  The ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.
• Bankruptcy Bar Association
• Federal Bar Association
  Promotes professional and social interaction among members of the Federal legal profession, the welfare of attorneys and judges employed by the Government of the United States, the sound administration of justice, high standards of professional competence and ethical conduct in the Federal legal profession
• Federal Bar Association, Maryland Chapter
• Maryland Lesbian & Gay Law Association
• Maryland Local & Specialty Bar Associations
  Local and specialty Bar Associations located in Maryland.
• Maryland Municipal Attorney’s Association
• National Bar Association
  The purpose of the National Bar Association is “…to advance the science of jurisprudence, uphold the honor of the legal profession, promote social intercourse among the members of the bar, and protect the civil and political rights of all citizens of the several states of the United States.”
• National Lesbian & Gay Law Association
  A national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) legal organizations.
• NY Criminal & Civil Courts Bar Association
  Great benefits for NY State Attorneys! Become a member! Founded in 1893, the New York Criminal & Civil Courts Bar Association has been accurately described in the Congressional Record as a “crusading bar association when others were straightlaced and never involved in controversy.”