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Nolo history
Nolo company history timeline
In 1971 lawyers Ralph Warner and Charles Sherman did their best to answer the legal questions from poor individuals who came to their storefront Legal Aid Office in Richmond, a few miles from Berkeley, California.
Nolo began publishing do-it-yourself legal guides in 1971.
Nolo doesn't just publish useful products; from its beginnings in 1971, it has also advocated for a more open and democratic legal system.
Nolo authors kept writing new self-help books and initiating other projects to bring the law to the masses. For example, in 1973 they started the Wave Project, which trained 18 nonlawyers to type up divorce forms for those who did not want or need a lawyer.
1975: The company moves to its new office in Berkeley, California.
Nolo Press in 1980 published its first issue of the Nolo News.
In 1980, Nolo moved to its present home in a former clock factory in Berkeley, California.
In 1985 Nolo Press introduced its WillMaker software, which became its bestseller.
1994: Nolo launches its web site.
In 1994, now with 70 employees, Nolo created one of the first consumer-oriented legal websites, offering lots of free legal information, and later adding online document preparation and downloadable versions of all Nolo books and software.
On March 12, 1998 Nolo received the Webby "1998 People's Voice Award" for having the best information in the business and money category.
Attorney Steve Elias, who authored some of Nolo's works, said in the June 16, 1998 Washington Times that no other states had claimed that Nolo's publications violated their rules concerning the unauthorized practice of law.
3, 1998.) But fortunately other lawyers rejected this "lawyers own the law" point of view and joined Nolo in advocating for a legal system accessible to all.
After a two-year fight, the Texas legislature finally passed a law in 1998 to make it clear that selling law books and software was not "practicing law without a license."
1999: Nolo Press changes its name to Nolo.com, Inc.; Texas's approval of a new law allowing publication of legal self-help materials leads to a Texas State Supreme Court committee ending its investigation of Nolo.com.
Also in 2000, Nolo.com signed a content and licensing partnership with San Francisco's eHow.com, an online company providing solutions on how to get things done.
In January 2001 a strategic alliance with the United Kingdom's Epoch Software, Plc gave Nolo.com users the capability to use Epoch's Rapidocs software to create complicated legal documents over the Internet without consulting an attorney.
In any case, Nolo reported in 2001 that WillMaker "had over a million satisfied users, making Nolo responsible for more wills than any law firm in history."
In 2005, Nolo launched a lawyer directory, to help people find a consumer-oriented lawyer when they want professional help in addition to self-help.
In 2006 Nolo retired its unofficial shark mascot on the company's 35th anniversary.
ExpertHub was founded in 2008 with the goal of helping solo practitioners and small law firms build their practice through the Internet.
In 2010, Internet Brands acquired ExpertHub.
These sites were combined with the ExpertHub technology platform in 2011 to form the Nolo Network.
In 2011, the company was purchased by Internet Brands, Inc.
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Nolo competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Atlantic | 1999 | $75.0M | 700 | 96 |
| Salon Media Group | 1995 | $4.5M | 24 | - |
| Newsmax Media, Inc. | - | $93.9M | 100 | 13 |
| Law360 | 2004 | $17.8M | 350 | 5 |
| First Look Media | 2013 | $7.6M | 170 | - |
| Cengage Learning | 1994 | $1.5B | 4,400 | 1,204 |
| Upworthy | 2012 | $2.5M | 125 | - |
| Craigslist | 1995 | $694.0M | 50 | 4 |
| Graham Holdings | 1947 | $4.8B | 11,500 | 45 |
| Lexis Nexis | - | - | - | 288 |
Nolo history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Nolo, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Nolo. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Nolo. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Nolo. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Nolo and its employees or that of Zippia.
Nolo may also be known as or be related to Nolo and Nolo, Inc.