Nolo Review: Is it Worth it in 2024?

What is Nolo?

Nolo is a long-running provider of legal tools and resources designed to help the average person navigate the complex landscape of law. While not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, they have an A+ rating for transparency and reputation. 

Founded in 1971, Nolo is a good brand for students, businesses, and consumers who need legal information. They offer do-it-yourself books, ready-to-use legal forms, legal documentation software, and a host of free educational articles on various legal practices. 

In addition, Nolo’s official website has a built-in attorney directory — connecting potential clients with the legal professionals they need. 

For law firms, this sounds like another potential avenue for lead generation. But, just how does their platform fair in terms of lead quality and value? 

First, let’s talk about their pricing.

Nolo Subscriptions

Take note that you need to pay a subscription fee to get your law firm listed on Nolo. 

There are two subscription tiers available: the “Basic” and “Premium” packages. 

The Basic option lets you create an online profile with your essential business information and contact details. Your profile page will also come with a built-in contact form, allowing prospects to reach you directly. 

In addition, you can publish or syndicate legal articles through Nolo’s network of publications. This will definitely increase your legal profile’s exposure, but that means putting in extra work into content research and production. 

A Basic subscription includes a fixed cost of about $350 per month, with additional fees based on location and practice area(s). 

Next up, the Premium subscription option also lets you use all the benefits of a Basic subscription. The main difference is, your page will appear more frequently to local users and prospects who are specifically looking for lawyers in your practice areas. 

Premium subscriptions use a quote-based pricing structure. You’ll need to contact Nolo’s sales team to get an actual figure tailored to your needs and budget. 

Another way to get leads from Nolo is through their Pay-Per-Lead (PPL) service. This means you only pay for leads that come your way. 

If you’re not happy with the quality of leads you receive, Nolo implements an appeal or credit request process to return your funds. 

Apart from directory listings and their PPL service, Nolo also offers business formation services for Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), corporations, and nonprofits. 

These services use three pricing tiers: Basic, Standard, and Express. 

LLC Formation Packages

	Basic Package	Standard Package	Express Package
Price	$49 + State fees	$149 + State fees	$299 + State fees
Services	LLC name validation, articles of organization filing, error checking, and steps to formalizing your LLC.	Everything in the “Basic” tier, IRS application for EIN, and 30+ forms.	Everything in “Standard” tier and customized LLC records kit.
Filing period	2-3 weeks	2-3 weeks	7-10 business days

Corporation and Nonprofit Packages

	Basic Package	Standard Package	Express Package
Price	$49 + State fees	$149 + State fees	$299 + State fees
Services	Corporation name validation, articles of incorporation filing, minutes for first board meeting, and steps to formalizing your corporation.	Everything in the “Basic” tier, IRS application for EIN, and 30+ forms.	Everything in “Standard” tier and customized corporate binder + seal.
Filing period	2-3 weeks	2-3 weeks	7-10 business days

What Comes With a Nolo Directory Profile?

Thinking about setting up a directory profile on Nolo? 

Here are the elements you can add to your listing:

• Professional profile photo and description. Upload your logo or professional legal portrait to stand out from the directory search results. Directly next to your photo is a short description, which can also be a tagline for capturing prospects’ attention. 
• Firm overview. Build your “About The Firm” tab to share everything prospective clients need to know, like your office address, phone number, and company website. Some lawyers in Nolo also include additional details like their fees, languages, and online publications.  
• Firm practice areas. Add a quick list of your firm’s practice areas to your Nolo profile. This will filter out leads who have no need for your legal specializations. 
• Firm philosophy. Answer questions about your company culture and ethics, like whether you provide pro bono services or how you decided your primary areas of practice. Filling out your firm philosophy tab helps reassure prospects that they found the right firm, increasing the quality of leads you generate. 
• Your biography. Show your prospects more about your attorneys, including their educational background, notable cases, and professional history. Some firms also include their attorneys’ license information to help serious prospects verify their credibility. 
• Contact form. Lastly, each Nolo profile comes with a handy contact form, helping you convert visitors into leads on the spot. While this is a huge plus, there’s no way for you to modify your Call-To-Action (CTA) and the overall form’s appearance. 

Additional Nolo Services for Law Firms

In addition to the lawyer directory and LLC services, Nolo offers the following products: 

Website Creation – $135

Nolo partnered with Web.com to help law firms get their website up and running. This includes domain registration, hosting, a website builder, and security certification. 

Operating Agreement – $99

If you’re forming an LLC, you need an operating agreement for personal liability protection. Nolo saves you the trouble of creating the necessary forms yourself. You can edit, download, print, and send the form as long as you have an active subscription. 

Business Licenses – $100

For a reasonable price, Nolo — in partnership with Avalara — will help you obtain the essential business licenses, permits, and tax documents you need. This service is available as an add-on for new and existing Nolo customers.

Registered Agent Services – $150

A registered agent frees you up from a ton of non-billable clerical work, including government correspondence and the management of compliance-related legal documents. If you’re a Nolo subscriber, you can use Nolo’s registered agent service through Vcorp, which provides nationwide coverage. 

NoloCloud Legal Forms – (Priced Per Form)

NoloCloud lets you access, edit, and download all forms purchased from Nolo at any time during your subscription. The forms cost anywhere between $29.99 to $99 depending on what you need. If you want to save money, you can purchase the online business forms bundle for $199. 

Is Nolo Worth it?

So, is Nolo worth it for law firms?

The answer is, it depends on what you’re looking for. 

If you need assistance with business formation, registered agent services, or done-for-you business forms, a Nolo subscription pays for itself — especially if you factor in the amount of time you save. 

The Nolo leads program, however, paints an entirely different picture. 

Sure, getting listed on the Nolo lawyer directory gives some exposure. Their PPL service also promises pre-screened leads specific to your practice area. 

However, the market’s sentiment is overwhelmingly negative when it comes to Nolo’s lead quality. 

Subscribing customers who’ve tried to generate leads from Nolo share dozens of complaints about wrong numbers, disinterested people, and old leads who were looking for legal assistance months before. Some users even report getting leads who didn’t even know how their numbers were obtained. 

A number of Nolo customers also experience receiving leads who are not interested in their practice. That means, even if the lead is looking for a lawyer, they might be looking for a specialization not covered by your firm. 

To make things worse, some users suspect that Martindale-Nolo sends the same leads to several firms. For instance, one customer talked about reaching a lead who was already contacted by multiple firms. 

Another Nolo review on Sitejabber shares a similar customer experience and suspicion. Only, this time, the lead already found an attorney. 

In Nolo’s defense, they stated that their leads are not exclusive to attorneys. 

Their website states that “no more than four firms may typically receive one lead.”

Whether or not Nolo stands by these words is yet to be proven. What we can say for sure is, customers aren’t happy with the quality of Nolo leads they’re getting. 

Just for good measure, here’s another review from Trustpilot that doubles down on the aforementioned customer concerns. 

On the flip side, there are Nolo customers who are quite happy with their experience. Most of them, however, are customers who searched for lawyers or used Nolo’s services — not firms looking to generate leads and grow their business.  

To sum up, Nolo is a great platform if you want to use their business formation services and forms. But if need to promote your law firm and generate quality leads, you may want to consider other options that could bring more value to your money.

Hiring a full-service law firm marketing agency, for instance, will help lay down the foundations of a solid and authoritative online presence. 

You can get started by contacting us here and requesting a free audit. 

Nolo Pros & Cons

Nolo Pros

• Wealth of online resources and tools for small business owners and individual customers. 
• Useful and reasonably-priced business formation packages. 
• Create detailed directory profile pages that can provide exposure to your firm. 
• Comprehensive library of online legal forms you can purchase and use on-demand. 
• User-friendly platform with a smooth learning curve. 

Nolo Cons

• Low-quality leads (wrong numbers, wrong practice area, supposedly fake leads, etc.). 
• Expensive subscription for lead generation services. 
• Leads get sent to multiple lawyers, making it more difficult to win them over.