Since 1971, Nolo's goal has been simple: Make America's legal system accessible to everyone. Our website, books, software, online legal forms and lawyer directory help millions of individuals, businesses and nonprofits solve their legal problems each year.
Ralph "Jake" Warner, after a brief hiatus from day-to-day management, is back in the driver's seat at Nolo. Widely recognized as a pioneer of the do-it-yourself law movement, Warner founded Nolo with Ed Sherman in 1971. He began publishing do-it-yourself law books written by him and his colleagues after numerous publishers rejected them. When personal computers came along, he added software to many Nolo books. When the Internet arrived, he pioneered online marketing of books.
In addition to running the company for much of the past three decades, Warner was an active editor and author. He wrote many books, including Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well and How to Run a Thriving Business. Today, he serves as chief executive officer as well as chairman of Nolo's board of directors. During a three-year break earlier this decade, Warner embarked on a new business venture: TallTales Audio, an audio book production company devoted to children's storytelling, online and on CD.
Warner holds a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from Princeton.
Back to topDubow became Chief Financial Officer of Nolo in 2004. Before joining the company, he served as VP, Finance with Publishers Group West and Avalon Publishing. He holds an MBA from the University of Virginia and a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Back to topSince joining Nolo in 1985, Heron has played key roles in the evolution of business systems, technology sales and technology development. She installed and ran the company's first network and first business software. During the 1990s, as the Internet became a crucial marketing tool for Nolo, she progressed from directing software sales and marketing to spearheading the development of online and software products. From 1999 to 2003, she served as vice president of information technology. Today, as chief operations officer, Heron's areas of responsibility also include HR, and service and support
Back to topMary Randolph joined Nolo in 1985. As vice president of editorial, she helps direct the editorial content of both Nolo's website and its products. Randolph is the author or co-author of several Nolo titles, including the Quicken WillMaker Plus legal manual, The Executor's Guide, 8 Ways to Avoid Probate, Dog Law and Deeds for California Real Estate. She has also edited many Nolo books. Randolph earned her law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.
Back to topAfter more than two decades in various capacities in the library and publishing worlds from Manhattan to Portland, Ore., Thompson joined Nolo as sales director in 2005. She became vice president of trade in July, 2007. Ms. Thompson serves on the Publishers Association of the West board of directors, hosts the Sales & Marketing Roundtable at the Publishers Association of the West National Publishing Conference, and has served on American Library Association college and research library subcommittees.
Back to topSigrid Metson manages Nolo's Business Division, which includes licensing, special sales and business development. Her background is in bringing technology-enabled information products to market. She has held senior management positions at leading publishers including Reference Software, CareThere.com and various Thomson (now Thomson Reuters) companies, including Bancroft-Whitney, Thomson Legal Publishing, West Group and the West Education Network.
Back to topScott Weigel oversees all direct sales efforts, online marketing, and Nolo’s Lawyer Directory. Scott joined Nolo in 2002 and has held positions in many areas of the company, including in the business systems, lawyer directory and marketing departments. Prior to his current role, he was the Director of Online Marketing as well as the Director of Nolo’s Lawyer Directory. Scott earned his BS from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Back to topAaron Fletcher manages Nolo's national Lawyer Directory sales team, including those working in-house and remotely. He has been working with Nolo’s Lawyer Directory since its inception. During his nearly 15 years experience in sales training and development before joining Nolo, Aaron held executive-level positions in advertising at leading periodicals, including the East Bay Express and the California Daily Journal. Aaron was a member of the U.S. Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Diving team and earned his associate’s degree in Diving Medicine & Physics. He earned a BA in Organizational Leadership & Communications from Chapman University. Aaron is proficient in jiu-jitsu and enjoys playing ping pong on his lunch break.
Back to topBray is an author and legal editor at Nolo, specializing in real estate, immigration law, and nonprofit fundraising. She is co-author of Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home and also edits a number of Nolo's small business books. Bray's working background includes solo practice, nonprofit, and corporate stints, as well as long periods of volunteering, including an internship at Amnesty International's main legal office in London. She received her law degree and a Masters degree in East Asian (Chinese) Studies from the University of Washington.
Back to topDoskow is a practicing attorney and mediator who has worked with families in the Bay Area for more than 15 years. She is the author of Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce and the editor of many Nolo titles including Divorce Without Court: A Guide to Mediation and Collaborative Divorce and the bestselling Neighbor Law: Fences, Trees Boundaries & Noise. She specializes in family law, including adoption, parentage issues, domestic partnership formation and dissolution, and divorce. She is a graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.
Back to topFitzpatrick specializes in small business, tax, and nonprofit law. Before joining Nolo, she was a deputy attorney at the San Francisco City Attorney's Office in the bond department. She also worked for several years in New York City at a law firm, doing corporate and securities work. Fitzpatrick is a graduate of Barnard College and received her law degree from New York University School of Law.
Back to topGuerin, an editor/author specializing in employment law, is author or co-author of several Nolo books, including The Manager's Legal Handbook, Dealing with Problem Employees, Nolo's Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws, Workplace Investigations, Create Your Own Employee Handbook, and Nolo's Guide to California Law. Guerin has practiced employment law in government, public interest, and private practice where she represented clients at all levels of state and federal courts and in agency proceedings. She is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.
Back to topLaurence joined Nolo as a legal editor in 1997. She holds a law degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, a B.A. degree from Boston University (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude), and is a member of the California State Bar. Laurence has combined her legal and financial expertise to edit many Nolo small business books over the years. She is the co-author of Business Buyout Agreements: A Step-by-Step Guide for Co-Owners. Before joining Nolo, Laurence worked as an electronic product developer at CCH, Inc. (a division of Wolters Klewer, Inc.), where she created legal online and CD-ROM products. Over the last decade she has been active on the board of directors of several local environmental and educational nonprofit organizations.
Back to topAs Nolo's managing editor, Portman oversees editorial work on all Nolo books. She specializes in residential and commercial landlord/tenant law, legal issues related to courts, landlords and tenants, and neighbor disputes. She is the author or co-author of Every Landlord's Legal Guide, Every Landlord's Guide to Finding Great Tenants, Every Tenant's Legal Guide, Renters' Rights, Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business, Leases & Rental Agreements, The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities, and California Tenants' Rights. A nationally syndicated columnist with Inman News, Portman's column, "Rent It Right," appears regularly in the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and other prominent newspapers and websites. Portman received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University and a law degree from Santa Clara University. Before joining Nolo in 1994, she practiced law as a public defender.
Back to topSimmons specializes in estate planning books and software. Before joining Nolo, she trained at two private law firms as well as the San Francisco Superior Court and the Federal District Court of Northern California. Simmons is a graduate of the Honors Lawyering Program at Golden Gate University School of Law where she served as the research editor of the law review. Before law school, she worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Oakland, as a data analyst in San Francisco, and as an English teacher in Ecuador.
Back to topStewart has been a Nolo editor and author since 1989, writing and editing books on landlord-tenant law, real estate, and other consumer issues. In addition to working on books and software, Stewart is an acquisitions editor and responsible for acquiring and developing new products for Nolo, including trade books and books with special sales and licensing potential. She is the co-author of Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, Every Landlord's Legal Guide, Every Tenant's Legal Guide, Leases and Rental Agreements, and Renters' Rights. She has edited dozens of Nolo books, including How to Buy a House in California and Parent Savvy.
Back to topAttorney Richard Stim specializes in small business, copyright, patents, and trademark issues at Nolo. He practices law in San Francisco and has represented photographers, software developers, craftspeople, publishers, musicians, and toy designers. He is the author of many books, including Wow! I'm in Business, Music Law, and Profit From Your Idea. Stim also produces audiobooks, such as Nolo's Crash Course in Small Business Basics, and performs and records with two bands, MX-80 and angel corpus christi.
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