We’re giving away free forms! Every month, we’ll make a few forms inNolo’s Online Legal Store available for free. This month we’re giving away an Affidavit of Domicile and a Bill of Sale for Dog. Both of these forms can be found on our Free Legal Forms page.

We believe that everyone needs access to high quality, legally enforceable forms for a wide variety of everyday situations. Nolo’s legal forms were written by our team of in-house expert attorneys, so you can count on them to be accurate, legally binding and easy to use. All of our forms also come with detailed, Plain English instructions, so you can clearly understand all of the legal terms and jargon involved.

Now, you can get some of our forms for free,

so you can see for yourself

just how helpful they can be.

Sure, in our eyes everyone is a part of the SEO Team.  But, in reality, we’re just a handful of people trying to make sense of this crazy thing we call SEO.  Recently, we brought in a few more poor — I mean, lucky individuals to help us.

Desiree Stephens has the good sense to not be an SEO Analyst.  She is, in fact, our Product Specialist, doing things like making sure all those people we bring to our sites actually have some related products to check out.  Desiree likes to read and likes to spend time with her niece, Molly, which means she’s probably the cool aunt who’s all smart and literary and whatnot.  She used to live in Washington, DC, but she adamantly denies the rumors that she was a lobbyist trying to get Gilmore Girls back on the air.

While Leah Torres lacks the good sense to avoid being an SEO Analyst, she has many redeeming qualities that make up for it.  After her long period of hazing — I mean, training, Leah will be working on sites like CriminalDefenseLawyer.com, DisabilitySecrets.com, and TheBankruptcySite.org.  She enjoys swimming and running and other things that people in their 20′s have the energy to do.  She was also an early adopter of natural deodorant something that has, thankfully, improved a great deal over the years.

These new additions have resulted in two immediate changes for the SEO Team: 1) Our collective IQ has shot up considerably and 2) The SEO Cove has now expanded to become an SEO Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by salespeople and engineers.

It’s been great to add new perspectives to our group.  We tend to live and die by the Google around here, so injecting some new blood into our system has given us some perspective.  Don’t get us wrong, we still live and die by Google, we just don’t take it so personally anymore.

We are sure that Desiree and Leah will help the SEO Team reach new heights of greatness.  Maybe we’ll even update this blog more often!

The flightless black and white birds who live in the snow are cool (pun intended), but we’re not fans of the Google’s most recent update, “Penguin.”

Sites that we’ve worked very hard to build seem to have been flagged as SPAM by Google’s latest attempt to improve their search results.  For example, one of Nolo’s niche sites, TheBankruptcySite.org, was hit pretty hard. This is a site that’s been getting a lot of love from some of the recent Panda updates, yet had all that affection overturned by Penguin.  That’s particularly frustrating for the four different Nolo editors, half dozen expert attorney authors, and the SEO analyst who spent a year making sure that all the content on this site was up to Nolo standards.

The only thing we can come up with to explain these results  is that certain set’s of 50 state articles have a fair amount of templated content, primarily the intro and other “non-meat” bits.  This was a concern when we were creating them, but the bulk of the content is unique, and specifically tailored for each state.  In some ways, it seems like we’re being penalized for being thorough.

Aside from that, we can’t figure this thing out. At this point, we’re just hoping it’s collateral damage that will work itself out.

We’re just going to go play golf.

Nolo’s goal has always been to publish quality content to give users accurate information on the legal issues they may face. A year ago, Nolo was acquired by Internet Brands, which maintains thousands of legal websites. The legal editors were given a daunting task:  Make sure the legal content on these sites lives up to the Nolo standards. This includes research, editing, and an overall makeover of the site.

So, when Google released its latest update, Penguin, we were a bit confused. One site in particular that was hit stands out: USImmigrationLawyers.com. The editor in charge of the site spent 10 months rewriting articles, posting new relevant content, and creating a reliable site for users to find out information on green cards, visas, work permits, and almost anything you would need to know about immigration.

Even more confusing are the new search results in Google. USImmigrationLawyers.com used to rank in the first two results for “ADIT Processing.” Now, when I search “ADIT Processing,” the first three sites are forums. Although, I do find forums interesting, they don’t always give accurate, timely information written by experts. Also, the government site wasn’t even in the top three results! Our ADIT Processing article now ranks #4ish.

Ilona Bray wrote all four of our Immigration books, and has years of experience as an attorney.  Her article should be more authoritative than a mishmash of forum posts.

Anyway, I do understand Google’s concern with web spam and its impossible task to give users the best search results, because this is what we strive for at Nolo.  But I think they are still missing a few steps.

If you’re filing for bankruptcy, you’ll be dealing primarily with the bankruptcy trustee. This is the person appointed by the court to administer your case.

There are a bazillion (I’m pretty sure that’s a word because spell check didn’t catch it) pages on the web offering up information on the bankruptcy trustee. Looking around though, few of them offer any insightful information.  Who is he/she? What do they do? Are they on your side? Are they out to get you? Will they sell all your stuff?

We felt it would be beneficial to give our readers some insight into this person, his/her role in your case, and how bankruptcy trustees really operate.

In typical Nolo fashion, we went straight to the source, and hired a bankruptcy trustee to give us the nitty gritty to help us build best place to go to get informed on the subject.

Patricia Dzikowski worked as a bankruptcy trustee for fifteen years in Florida, and is the author behind Nolo’s new section on The Bankruptcy Trustee.  She’s worked to answer some of the most common questions, like whether the bankruptcy trustee is on your side, can the bankruptcy trustee deny your discharge of debts, will the bankruptcy trustee take your tax refund, and much more.

We’re just getting started, too. We’ve got a lot more work in the pipeline, so you can expect even more coming soon.

Just another example of how Nolo differs from pretty much every other source of legal information. We don’t just regurgitate what’s already out there, we go to the experts to bring you the best legal information you can find.

Last week, Google released the latest version of Panda, 3.4.  The update changed the algorithm Google uses to rank organic search results.  Given the chaos that generally results from a new Panda update, we prepared for a flurry of activity.

But unlike with the original Panda change, Nolo’s affiliated sites actually gained traffic this time around.  This makes sense, given that Google’s goal is to rank quality pages at the top, and we’ve spent a lot of time making sure our sites are of the highest quality.

One of the sites that benefited the most from the update was Drivinglaws.org, which was something of a relief for editor Rich Stim and analyst Kyle Vanderneut, as both have been working hard to make the site the best it can be.

Drivinglaws.org covers a lot of topics, from DUI/DWI and distracted driving, to speeding tickets and teen driving laws.  Since every state has its own set of laws regarding these subjects, you can probably see that we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.  And let’s not forget that driving laws are always changing!  There’s also the matter that certain laws generate more interest depending upon what’s going on in the world.

For example, traffic to our DUI/DWI pages tends to spike just after the holidays.

Lately, though, we’ve seen increases in people searching for what are generally referred to as “distracted driving” laws.  These focus on cell phone use while driving, or specifically about texting while driving.  This has been a hot button topic as more and more states move to making any cell phone usage while operating a vehicle illegal.  We’ve made expanding and improving this section of Drivinglaws.org a priority, and it appears the hard work has paid off.

“Distracted driving” laws are still relatively new, and we doubt that they will ever become a topic as huge as DUI/DWI laws.  But our goal is to cover every topic as accurately and thoroughly as possible, for every state in the nation (and the District of Columbia!).  And, as always, we present it in language that is easy to understand, even if you’re not a lawyer.

Quality is key, and it’s nice to see that, with this recent Panda release, that quality is paying off.

Nolo is seeking an attorney-editor to edit and create content for a divorce-related website. We want someone who can edit and update a collection of articles or write new ones as assigned by Nolo.

We’re looking for someone who has:

• Law degree
• Two or more years of experience in family law
• Experience editing and writing legal content for a non-lawyer audience, and the ability to translate statutes and other legalese into plain English for non-lawyers
• The ability to read and understand legal materials
• Experience editing and writing for websites
• Ability to meet deadlines consistently.

This is a contract position, approximately half-time.

Please submit resume to:  applications@nolo.com

If we are interested in your application, we will call you for a phone interview and ask you to take an editing test or write a sample article.

I’ve been working feverishly over the past week publishing and organizing a ton of articles on an interesting topic: marijuana laws. It’s an interesting area of law that has changed dramatically over that last decade or so. Marijuana has gone from being outright illegal to an acceptable form of medicine in many states. Even more, many states have decriminalized marijuana possession, meaning instead of getting arrested and charged with a crime, many pot smokers are getting a ticket, akin to a traffic citation.

Janet Portman and several freelance authors have put together a library of over one hundred articles explaining everything from the penalties for a “Marijuana DUI“, to Medical Marijuana Laws, to general marijuana laws in every state.

If you’re facing a marijuana related charge, or just thinking about whether or not you can get a medical marijuana card, check out Marijuana Laws.

Whether it’s How to Form an LLC in Texas, California DUI Laws, The Florida Homestead Exemption Laws, or any of the other thousands of accurate legal articles in the Nolo network, there’s a lot of legal research behind it. So how do we manage so much legislative information and translate it into plain English for our readers?

Early on, Nolo had to come up with some way to organize and maintain a wealth of state specific information for all the charts that appear in Nolo’s books. More recently, that need grew even more as online publishing ramped up. The solution was a unique, proprietary editorial database that allows our editors and researchers to manage all of this information. They can create dynamic charts of state based statutes that can easily be updated when the laws change.

This research is often done in advance of large writing projects that are handled by our freelancers. This way we can produce large volumes of content without the risk of inaccurate information.

This is just another example of the lengths to which we go to produce the best legal content online. Where most online publishers simply use other sites for their research (often Nolo.com), we go straight to the source.

This is a follow-up post to our blog about writing for Nolo. This is the job description:

Legal Writers Wanted

Nolo, the oldest and foremost publisher of self-help legal books and software for consumers, and Internet Brands, a leader in online publishing for vertical markets, are seeking writers with a strong legal background to contribute well-written, informative articles to our portfolio of legal websites. These articles will require the ability to read and understand specific legal issues and statutes, and translate them into plain English for a general audience. Demonstrated legal expertise is required.

This is a 100% freelance, telecommuting position. Assignments, writing, editing, and submissions are all handled through our online system. All you need is a computer, internet access, and the ability to deliver clean, concise copy on a variety of legal topics.

Requirements include:

• Ability to write in a professional, authoritative tone.
• Legal experience is a must. (Please see below for specifications)
• Strong research and fact checking skills.
• Attention to detail and the desire to help provide accurate legal information to the online audience.

We are currently looking for strong writers with expertise in the following areas:

• Bankruptcy Law – Must have a law degree and bankruptcy experience (preferably Chapter 7 or Chapter 13), be able to read and understand specific legal statutes, and write articles on the subject in an easily digestible style.
• Criminal Defense Law – Must be a lawyer with experience as a prosecutor or criminal defense attorney, able to understand statutes and case law, and capable of writing articles for a lay audience.
• Disability Law – Must have disability law experience (lawyer, paralegal, etc.), be able to read and understand specific legal statutes, and write articles on the subject in an easily digestible style.
• Family/Divorce Law – Must have divorce/family law experience, either as a lawyer or a paralegal with at least three years in the field of family law. Must be able read and understand legal materials, and translate statutes and other legalese into plain English for non-lawyers, in the form of articles and FAQs.
• Foreclosure Law - Must have foreclosure law experience (lawyer, paralegal, etc.), be able to read and understand specific legal statutes, and write articles on the subject in an easily digestible style.
• Immigration - Must be actively engaged in immigration law practice (as a lawyer or paralegal), be familiar with immigration-related codes, regulations, and current policies, and be able to write articles on the subject in an easily digestible style for laypersons.
• Landlord/Tenant Law - Must have landlord/tenant law experience (lawyer, paralegal, etc.), be able to read and understand specific legal statutes, and write articles on the subject in an easily digestible style.
• Personal Injury Law – Must have personal injury law experience (lawyer, paralegal, etc.), be able to read and understand specific legal statutes, and write articles on the subject in an easily digestible style.
• Real Estate Law - Must have real estate law experience (lawyer, paralegal), be able to understand identified legal statutes, and write articles on the subject in an easy-to-understand style.
• Small Business Law - Must be a lawyer with small business law experience. Must understand business law issues and be able to write articles that are legally accurate, relevant, and comprehensive.
• Tax Law - Must be a lawyer with tax law experience. Must understand tax law issues and be able to write articles that are legally accurate, relevant, and comprehensive.

To apply, simply click the following link: https://www.knowledgewriting.com/. (Make sure to submit to one of the specialty areas listed above.)

Rates will vary, and start at $25 and up based on assignment. If you have any other questions, feel free to send an e-mail to applications@nolo.com.