David Brown practices law in the Monterery, California area, where he has represented both landlords and tenants in hundreds of court cases — most of which he felt could have been avoided if both sides were more fully informed about landlord/tenant law. Brown, a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Santa Clara Law School, also teaches law at Monterey College of Law and is the author of Fight Your Ticket in California, Beat Your Ticket and others.

Ralph Warner is widely recognized as a pioneer of the do-it-yourself law movement, he founded Nolo with Ed Sherman in 1972. He began publishing do-it-yourself law books written by him and his colleagues after numerous publishers rejected them. Warner holds a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from Princeton.

As Nolo’s managing editor, Janet 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 Tenant’s Legal Guide, Renters’ Rights, Leases & Rental Agreements, The California Landlord’s Law Book: Rights and Responsibilities and others. A nationally syndicated columnist with Inman News, Portman’s column, “Rent It Right,” appears regularly in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, 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.