Ralph "Jake" Warner , a pioneer of the do-it-yourself law movement, founded Nolo with Ed Sherman in 1971. Nolo began publishing do-it-yourself law books written by Jake 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 championed the move online, where Nolo published huge amounts of free legal information. In addition to running Nolo for much of its first 40 years, Warner was an active editor and author. He wrote many books, including Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement and Save Your Small Business: 10 Crucial Strategies to Survive Hard Times or Close Down & Move On . Today, he operates a storytelling repertory group, Jake's Tales, devoted to keeping alive the tradition of telling children wonderful stories. Warner holds a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in history from Princeton.

Toni Ihara is an anthropologist turned lawyer turned graphic artist. Toni is an original member of the Nolo family and has been involved in the modern people's law movement since its inception in the early 1970s. Coauthor o f The Living Together , her articles have appeared in New West, Ms. and Harper's Bazaar. Frederick Hertz is a practicing attorney-mediator and the author of  Legal Affairs: Essential Advice for Same-Sex Couples  (Owl Books) and co-author of Nolo's  Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples ,  A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples  and  Making It Legal: A Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Domestic Partnership & Civil Unions .