Nolo, formerly known as Nolo Press, is a publisher in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, that produces

do-it-yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

legal books and software that allows people to handle simple legal matters such as making wills or writing business partnership contracts. Its areas of focus include

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, family law, employment law, tenant and landlord issues,

wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law), a legal document Places Australia * Wills, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia * Division of Wills, an Australian electoral division in Victoria United States * Wills Township, LaPorte County, Indiana ...

trusts A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

and intellectual property. Even though Nolo encourages consumers and small business owners to handle their own legal matters when it is reasonably feasible to do so, the company recommends getting professional legal help for disputable or difficult matters. The company was founded in an attic in 1971 by Ralph Warner (a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, UC Berkeley's Boalt School of Law) and family law attorney Ed Sherman. The company's logo shows the Scales of Justice (symbol), scales of justice tilted in favor of the reader, and includes the motto "LAW for ALL."

History

In 1971 Ed Sherman wrote ''How to Do Your Own Divorce in California''. He and Ralph Warner discovered that established publishers wouldn't publish the book because they feared being prosecuted for practicing law without a licence. In response Sherman and Warner created Nolo Press and published it themselves. They then started publishing additional do-it-yourself legal guides under the Nolo Press name. The Latin word "nolo" in the original company name ("Nolo Press") could be taken to mean "I would prefer not to." Warner and Sherman thought this name was appropriate since they had only started a publishing business themselves after their first do-it-yourself guide was turned down by established publishers. In 2006, Nolo began publishing a directory of attorneys, which is asserted to operate on the principle that both participating lawyers and consumers are better served by a relatively short list of qualified attorneys under each category (business law, real estate, etc.), with much information for side-by-side comparisons. In 2006 Nolo retired its unofficial shark mascot on the company's 35th anniversary. Some older Nolo publications had featured the shark wearing a necktie and carrying a briefcase – showing the company's fondness for poking fun at their fellow members of the legal profession. This mascot was often accompanied by the motto "Don't feed the lawyers. Just say Nolo." In 2011, the company was purchased by Internet Brands, Inc. Ed Sherman founded his own legal publishing business, Nolo Press Occidental, a separate company from Nolo.Nolo Press Occidental
corporate history webpage

Products and services

Since its inception in the early 1970s, Nolo's primary focus has been publishing self-help legal guides designed to assist anyone in finding plain-language answers to common legal questions. The company is also the creator of Quicken WillMaker software, which allows individuals to create do-it-yourself

, Power of attorney, powers of attorney and other estate planning documents.

Complaints from lawyers

Although the company's products conspicuously recommend the reader to engage a lawyer for difficult or contended matters, the company has nevertheless drawn the ire of some legal organizations. Publication of Nolo's first book, ''How to Do Your Own Divorce in California'', was condemned by the Sacramento Bar Association, which led to a huge increase in its sales. In 1997, the Texas Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (a committee of the Texas Supreme Court) opened investigations on Nolo and similar publishers, inquiring as to whether their publications constituted practice of law, practicing law without a license. Saying that the investigation was "the first step toward widespread state censorship", Nolo sued, seeking a declaratory judgment that its publications were legal. It was joined in the action by the American Association of Law Libraries and the Texas Library Association. In response, the Texas Legislature enacted HR 1507, which expressly exempted websites and textbooks from accusations of practicing law without a license, providing they "clearly and conspicuously state that the products are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney". In light of this, the court committee dropped its contest of Nolo's suit.

References

{{Webby Awards, cat=Money, year=1998, type=Nominee Book publishing companies based in Berkeley, California Publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1971 American legal websites Online companies of the United States Online legal services Legal organizations based in the United States