Most lawyer videos posted online bear little resemblance to the legal commercials you’ve probably seen on television: the stilted delivery by the fast-talking, well-dressed lawyer who explains how if you’ve been injured, you need to call him now. In fact, most online legal videos are informational in nature, designed to help people who have legal problems get answers to their questions. In sharing their hard-won legal knowledge for free, lawyers hope to both establish their credibility as trustworthy professionals—and potential partners if you decide to pursue a legal course of action. In the process of watching online these lawyer videos, you can learn the law: or at least enough of it to feel confident about what lies ahead should you choose to hire a lawyer.

How to look for informational videos

While many law firms are posting videos on their websites, there are easier ways of finding the information you need without hunting and pecking online for firms in your area.

1. Go to an attorney video directory. Viewmylawyer.com is a worldwide attorney video directory that houses hundreds of informational videos posted by lawyers who specialize in everything from bankruptcy to consumer rights to personal injury. In a few clicks, you’ll be able to find videos that will help you learn what law you need to help you maximize your chances at achieving justice. What’s more, you can limit the search to lawyers in your neighborhood, so that if you decide you need a lawyer, you have first-hand knowledge of some local attorneys.

2. Look on YouTube. While YouTube is better known for comic viral videos, a number of lawyers have taken to posting videos online. It will be more difficult to find the content you’re looking for than on an attorney video directory, but there may be a slightly larger pool of attorney videos from which to browse.

3. Search on a social media network. Few people think of Facebook as a potential resource for finding lawyers, but more and more firms are starting professional pages. This gives you an opportunity to both look within your network for lawyers, and glean more information about them by looking at their videos.

How to use informational videos

Obviously, no videos will be able to convey the depth of knowledge that comes from attending law school or the practical experience that attorneys earn while practicing the law. However, the videos posted by attorneys are often designed to answer questions that new clients frequently ask. Through answering these questions, they hope to make it easier for you to evaluate whether you need to hire a lawyer—and if so, what the process will look like and how the lawyer will work to protect your interests.

By watching lawyer videos, you can learn the law well enough to make informed decisions, both about the best course to take in your pursuit of justice, and which lawyer you want guiding you along the way.