A California publisher of books and software giving detailed instructions on how to complete legal tasks had to go to court in Texas to fight an accusation that the company was engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). As early as 1992, Texas banned a manual that contained forms and instructions for creating a will. Next the UPL was applied to Parsons Technology's Quicken Family Lawyer, a computer program that helps consumers prepare several different legal forms, which a federal judge banned in January 1999 from being sold in Texas. Nolo Press, the most prominent publisher of self-help legal aids in the United States, was accused in 1998 of violating the Texas law and was under investigation by the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee when the publisher filed a lawsuit in district court in March 1999 against the Committee. The lawsuit asked that the...