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Free PACER, Free the Law. FLP Presents at AALL 2024

Jenifer Whiston

Free Law Project was honored to present at the AALL Conference in Chicago.

Our Executive Director, Michael Lissner, joined Jonah Gelbach, Herman F. Selvin Professor of Law at Berkeley Law, and Rebecca Fordon, Reference Librarian & Adjunct Professor at the Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law, to talk about PACER system. The session provided a clear view of PACER’s impact and how to better navigate its challenges. The panel highlighted the need for better access and provided actionable strategies for working with PACER, making it a must-attend for anyone involved in legal research.

What we talked about:

  1. PACER’s Past and Future: How PACER's history shapes today’s issues and discussed the benefits of a free PACER system for legal access and equity.

  2. Tools for Accessing PACER Data: Various tools for working with PACER data, including web scrapers, APIs, and search engines. These resources help researchers access and analyze court records more effectively.

  3. Teaching with PACER: Practical advice on how to design instructional materials that help students and legal professionals use PACER data effectively.

Unfortunately, Lissner's flight to the conference was canceled due to the Microsoft outage, but he made a video of his part of the presentation, and the group's slides are available below.

Download the Slides Watch the Presentation (20 min.)

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