LibGuides: Empirical Legal Research Resources: Bulk Download Availability

Overview

Many databases do not allow for bulk downloading of data. It is important to note any limits on usage for a database before attempting bulk downloads, since it may result in suspension of service.

However, some resources explicitly permit bulk downloading. This page offers a list of governmental resources and commercial legal databases that allow bulk downloads.

Governmental Resources for Bulk Data Downloads

GPO's Federal Digital System
Bulk data of certain federal government information is available at GPO's Federal Digital System
Data.gov
It allows data harvesting of many federal government agencies.
Congress.gov
Congress.gov provides multiple methods for users to consume and use its data offsite.

Commercial and Non-governmental Databases that Allow Bulk Downloads

Law school accounts of major commercial legal databases such as Lexis, Westlaw, Bloomberg, and Hein do not support bulk data downloads at this point. It is also important to know that many academic accounts have monthly download limits and therefore checking licensing agreement on data downloads is essential.

Yale University Library, Resources for Text and Data Mining
It includes a list of non-legal or interdisciplinary commercial databases that allow text and data mining.
Chicago University Library, Text and Data Mining
Research guide covers text and data mining on non-law subjects.
Free Law Project
Bulk legal data downloads are supported. There are currently many ongoing initiatives such as CourtListener, RECAP, Supreme Court Data, Reporters Database, Juriscaper, etc.