A tremendous amount of public record information and other legal information is now available online. Here are some links to good sources of information:
Bay Area Superior Courts
Contra Costa: www.cc-courts.org
Alameda: www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/courts
San Francisco: www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/courts_index.asp
San Mateo: www.sanmateocourt.org
Santa Clara: www.sccaseinfo.org
Legal News and Research
www.findlaw.com
www.c-span.org
State Government
Secretary of State: www.ss.ca.gov/business/business.htm
Contractors State License Board: www.cslb.ca.gov
Department of Real Estate: www.dre.ca.gov/default.htm