Nolo's Lawyer Blog

Strategic Online Partnerships

In our efforts to provide more exposure and online visibility to Nolo member attorneys, Nolo has partnered with a few key legal websites to form the Nolo Legal Network.

Meet Justia

Former CEO and co-founder of FindLaw, internet legal guru Tim Stanley now heads up Justia, providing premium web sites, blogs and online marketing solutions to law firms. Justia also works with organizations like Nolo that provide free legal information to the online community.  All Nolo member attorneys receive a free enhanced placement listing on Justia's lawyer directory as well as a 'verified by Nolo' badge. Through Justia and its strong web affiliations, Nolo is able to connect its member attorneys with some of the best legal sites on the web.

Cornell University's Legal Information Institute (LII)

The leading provider of free public legal information, Cornell created the Legal Information Institute, the first legal website on the Internet back in 1992. Known for listing all opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court since 1992, together with over 600 earlier decisions selected for their historical importance, Cornell also lists attorneys--including Nolo member attorneys--as a service to members of the public with questions about the law.

OYEZ - US Supreme Court Multimedia Archive

"Oyez aims to be a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. The Project also provides authoritative information on all justices and offers a virtual reality 'tour' of portions of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of some of the justices" (from the Oyez website).

These are just a few examples of the growing list of leading legal information providers that Nolo proudly calls its partners. Find out more about becoming a member of the Nolo Lawyer Directory today!

Please introduce yourself: where are you from, where did you grow up or go to school, are you married, any kids, pets?
I grew up in Chicago and attended Francis W. Parker School for 14 years. Went to school in California but then back to Chicago, where I worked at a progressive rock radio station. I then moved to CA in 1986 and am now married; our teenaged daughter is a dedicated softball pitcher.

Tell us a little about your sales background? Any previous experience that lends itself to talking with attorneys?
After 35 years of selling media, including radio, print and internet, I have an excellent grip on marketing. I've worked with major retailers, professionals, event advertisers and food brands. Marketing is universal - how to best reach your target. That's why I'm happy to be working with Nolo's Lawyer Directory.  It's so amazingly focused. I have forsaken all other media for internet because it is the marketing of the present and the future.

What are the most important things an attorney can do to get the word out to generate more clients?
Besides a Nolo profile, networking with other attorneys is important. Also, do a good job so that your clients will send you referrals. Make sure someone is answering your phone. Put good content on your website!

What do you like the most about working here at Nolo?
I love the environment and the casual atmosphere. I strongly believe in Nolo's mission - informing people about their legal problems - and it's easy to sell a product that you believe in, in which you have confidence.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know or wouldn't know?
Besides being a softball Mom, I love the end of the day when I get to walk my dog Rocco, a jumbo dachshund, in the beautiful Oakland hills.

What do you like to do when you're not working? Personal interests, hobbies, secret obsessions?
I play golf with my husband; I like going to movies and reading the New Yorker cover to cover, and love long novels. I'm a subscriber to the Berkeley Rep and am always amazed by their creative stage work. I've traveled a lot and seen many beautiful places, but my favorite is the tiny hamlet of Inverness in West Marin.

NACBA 2010 - San Francisco

This year's annual NACBA -- The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys -- meeting will be held in San Francisco starting on April 28, 2010. Nolo will be out in force for the show and will also be taking a small group of Nolo-NACBA member attorneys out to sea on a sunset bay cruise aboard "Adventure Cat 2",  a luxurious 65-foot catamaran.
NACBA bankruptcy attorneys attending the San Francisco meeting are invited to join Nolo, Captain Hans and his crew aboard the beautiful Adventure Cat for this hour-and-a-half long sunset cruise.  Our cruise will take us around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge (check out this cool video)!

We will be departing from Fisherman's wharf at 6:30 p.m. sharp on Saturday, May 1, 2010.

There is no cost for qualified attorneys to participate, but space is limited so sign-up today by calling 1-877-NOLO-LAW or email Tom Foley directly at tfoley@nolo.com.

Nolo Member Attorney Interview with Blackie Burak

Nolo catches up with busy Walnut Creek, CA DUI attorney Blackie Burak on why he became an attorney, best practices for lawyers just starting out, as well as tips on what makes a good DUI lawyer.

Blackie Burake Interview_edit.mp3

Are you one of the shrinking-but-still-confused group of internet users that are still uncertain about the widely used terms natural or organic when it comes to search engines and search results? Let's take a look; it's actually a lot simpler than you might think.

The internet is currently dominated by three major search engines; Yahoo!, Bing and of course Google. According to Nielsen data from August 2009, Google still has the lion's share of domestic queries at 65%. Yahoo! comes in a distant second with 17% of all search traffic and Microsoft's Bing, growing at 22% month over month now accounts for 10.7% of all Internet searches.

One way to look at it is basically the difference between paid vs. non-paid advertising online. Let's face it, most everyone wants to be on the top of the first page of results when users are searching for specific key words or phrases. The easiest way to do this is to pay for terms that people are searching for, usually on a bidding system, so that your website will show up higher than your competitors for a given search result. The second way to look at it is that websites with the most relevant content matching the terms that users are searching for show up higher than those with less relevant content. Part of the recognition for relevancy is also represented by how many inbound links there are to your site from other sites. The more that people point to you, the more of an authority you must be is the basic logic but we'll save inbound and outbound linking for another post.

Let's look at Google as an example. When you type in a term like 'Bankruptcy' into Google, the first thing you'll see in the results at the top left of the page is Sponsored Links, typically three listings in a lightly shaded yellow box. If you look to the right of the page,you'll see in the vertically shaded column additional Sponsored Links as well. (Click on the chart to see a larger version.)

The Sponsored Links both across the top and down the right hand side are all paid advertising. The organic or natural results are then listed below on the left hand side. In this case, the news results for this search are pointing to a Wall Street Journal which mentions bankruptcy and then the US Bankruptcy Court page is next.

Check out an earlier post about Search Engine Optimization basics here. You can also read more about Google's recommended SEO practices here.

While we enjoyed speaking with all of the NACBA attorneys that stopped by Nolo's booth, here are just a few of the things that some of our member attorneys had to say.

"We don't track our advertising too closely but I'd say we've received at least 20-30 clients from Nolo over this past year. Our Nolo advertising paid for itself within the first few months" Holley & Peter Bricks, Atlanta - Georgia








"It was an honor to meet your colleagues. I did not expect to meet one of the author/editors of your Chapter 7 book, which I use on a regular basis.
 
I have a great deal of respect for Nolo, not just for the quality products, but for the ultimate goal that I have seen Nolo carry through the years of educating the public about the otherwise intimidating legal process. I try to serve this goal as well with my clients on an individual basis.  I consider it an honor to have my firm associated with Nolo." Kurt W. Wolfgang - La Plata, Maryland

"I've had so many phone calls and I haven't even completed my Nolo profile!" Selwyn Whitehead - Oakland, California

(Since then, Selwyn has completed a fantastic profile!)

The Nolo Road Show in Full Effect

It's 1:30PM PST here in Vegas and the attorneys have just departed for the day. Three Nolo team members - Kay, Kimber and Greg - hit the ground running here at Caesars Palace in lovely Las Vegas on our quest to find the best attorneys that we can to represent our consumers nationwide. We are reaching out to DUI / DWI attorneys attending the 13th annual 'Defend with Integrity' conference. Approximately 550 participating attorneys are here to receive their CLE's for DUI specific areas of their Criminal Law practices.

Our intial response by attorneys has been overwhelmingly positive as we have some of the biggest crowds out of all the exhibitors. Many other exhibitors have stopped by to validate this as well (read - pat on our own back). Our Nolo legal guides for consumers are also very popular with attorneys, FREE for qualified attorneys that will give us five minutes of their time to tell us a little about their practice.

We'll be back at 6:30 PM for the first (of a few) schmooze & booze cocktail hours. Actually, Nolo will be hosting our own informal get together tomorrow night at the Voodoo Lounge on the 50th floor of the Rio hotel - members only. 

Nolo is always looking for great attorneys to help meet our growing consumer demand. Recently we have been seeing a dramatic increase in the number of consumers visiting our lawyer directory looking for Criminal Defense attorneys.

One important way that we reach out to new attorneys is by attending national legal association meetings. Getting to meet face to face and talking to lots of lawyers one-on-one helps us to better understand what kind of struggles attorneys face running their practices and how they overcome those challenges on a daily basis. We also get to share a little about who we are and what we are looking for in qualified lawyers to help our consumers.

This fall, Nolo plans to attend the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) along with the National College for DUI Defense's (NCDD) 13th Annual DWI - Defend with Ingenuity seminar in Las Vegas, October 8-10, 2009. This will be our first time to reach out to these Criminal Defense attorneys at one of their annual meetings.

You don't need a Criminal Defense attorney that focuses on DUI's until you or someone you know lands themselves in jail after one too many before getting behind the wheel. Laws differ from state to state which is why local representation can be very important if you find yourself asking questions about DUI's and DWI's. Soon we'll talk with some Nolo attorneys that specialize in DUI's to find out more about what makes a successful DUI practice.

Now there's an app for that too

Show your friends & co-workers how you manage to stay at the forefront of the legal technology curve and download the latest legal iPhone app from Nolo. iPhone owners can now download the new Plain-English Law Dictionary, available FOR FREE at the iTunes App store. This free application provides iPhone users with anywhere, anytime access to nearly 4,000 legal terms and definitions. "Quick, easy-to-use access to the latest legal terms and definitions just got a whole lot easier for students, business owners, media, paralegals and others", says Nolo Founder & CEO Ralph 'Jake' Warner.

Here's what one of our customers had to say:

"I'm a 30+ year attorney and needed a quick and easy law dictionary app. Here it is. You can't beat Nolo for their helpful legal info aimed at consumers and this helpful app is a great example. I use Black's Law Dictionary in my office and have been wanting a law dictionary for my iPhone since I bought my first iPhone. Now with the 3G's model, Nolo timed it perfectly. Just about every legal phrase you commonly need is defined here. And if you get tired of the Law & Order opening notes, you can shut them off and get straight to work. A great app, highly useful, especially for attorneys, and you just can't beat the (free) cost. Nolo scores again." Ron Burdge