Except for California, every U.S. state bar offers a member benefit of free access to a legal research service, typically either Fastcase or Casemaker. Until today, California has been the lone exception.

But this morning, the California Lawyers Association and Fastcase announced a partnership through which the CLA’s roughly 60,000 members will have free access to Fastcase’s nationwide legal research system. This brings Fastcase’s total user base to some 900,000 lawyers, nearly three quarters of all lawyers in the United States.

Beginning in early 2019, anyone who is a paid member of at least CLA section will receive the benefit. The benefit includes unlimited research, printing, webinar training, and reference support. It also includes access via the Fastcase mobile app and live customer support from Fastcase reference attorneys.

Once the benefit begins, members will be able to access Fastcase through the CLA website, where they will be able to log in with their bar username and password.

The CLA is the voluntary bar association formed last January by the split of the State Bar of California. The State Bar retained only its regulatory and public-protection functions, while the CLA was created as the new home of the bar’s 16 sections and its young lawyers’ division.

“At CLA, one of our primary goals is to provide a wide variety of resources to attorneys in California, to allow their practices to thrive and their clients to receive the highest quality legal services,” said Heather Rosing, CLA president, in a prepared statement. “We are proud of what we have accomplished during our inaugural year in terms of benefits for the legal community. Coming in year two, we are excited to announce our new partnership with Fastcase that will allow our members free access to online legal research and more.”

Fastcase says that 31 state bar associations and dozens of metro, county, and specialty bar associations offer its research platform as a member benefit.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.