From the analysis of a research project supported by government funding, some criteria of describing legal information on different levels are presented. The non-jurists users, who the public nature of the project regards as privileged, are not able to explain clearly the information they need; therefore, particular attention should be paid to the description of the content. Examples are given showing how techniques of finding relevant information to be inefficient if they are not linked to a homogenous and conceptual organization based on theoretical models and formal criteria. Thus, the need of an ontology-grounded model is further useful in more complex applications (multilingual access, normative comparison and systems of legal drafting).