LawGuideUSA was built to answer a simple question people ask right after something goes wrong: "What actually happens now, in my state?"
Legal information online is often either too generic to be useful (written for no state in particular) or locked behind a law firm's marketing funnel. We built LawGuideUSA to sit in between — genuinely state-specific, genuinely free, and reviewed by people with real legal training rather than generated and left unchecked.
Our editorial team
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Melissa Hartwell, J.D.
Legal Content Director · J.D., Member of the State Bar (non-practicing, content review)
Melissa holds a Juris Doctor and spent six years in civil litigation practice before moving into legal content strategy. She reviews all practice-area frameworks published on LawGuideUSA for structural and procedural accuracy.
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Daniel Oyelaran, J.D.
Criminal & DUI Law Editor · J.D., former public defender's office research clerk
Daniel researched criminal procedure and DUI/DWI case law for a public defender's office before joining LawGuideUSA to lead coverage of criminal defense and impaired driving law across all 50 states.
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Renata Cole, J.D.
Family Law & Disability Editor · J.D., family law mediation certificate
Renata combines a law degree with mediation training to cover divorce, custody, and Social Security disability content with an emphasis on procedural clarity for self-represented readers.
What we are — and aren't
LawGuideUSA is a legal information publisher. We are not a law firm, we do not provide legal representation, and using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every guide is designed to help you understand your situation well enough to have a more informed conversation with a licensed attorney in your state.