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What Makes Content Popular? Take-Aways from March 12 LMA Program

What makes some articles more popular than others? That was the subject of last Thursday’s educational program offered by the Bay Area Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association. The speaker, Adrian Lurssen, VP of Strategic Development and Cofounder of JD…

Blurred Lines – Copyright’s Fight for Freedom-To-Use

The music industry was rocked last week when a Central California District Court jury returned a verdict finding the megahit song “Blurred Lines” infringes on the late Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” The legal dispute over the controversial…

Ten Ways to Grow Your Practice In Latin America and What Cultural Mistakes to Avoid

In 2014, the U.S. trade with Mexico was 92% of our trade with China. The Brazilian economy is the 7th largest in the world behind the U.S., Japan, China and Europe. And yet most lawyers continue to look only at…

Tax Tips, Not Just For Tax Filing Season

People often ask what it is like to have the IRS or California state tax authorities as our constant adversaries. The answer is simple. Even with highly contentious issues, whether for thousands or millions of dollars, or whether overseeing an…

Legal Ethics Community Will Greatly Miss Paul Vapnek

The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Legal Ethics Committee sends our heartfelt sympathies to the friends and family of Paul Vapnek, a renowned legal ethics and intellectual property lawyer, who passed away on February 28, 2015. After clerking for U.S.…

Five Reasons You Should Sign the Pro Bono Pledge

The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) Board of Directors recently voted to release a new call to action encouraging members and law firms to give back with pro bono service. A set of pro bono pledges, one aimed at…

The Idiot's Guide to E-Filing

The first time I filed a federal case was with a clerk in San Jose. Unsure of the required format, I prepared my filing three ways: According to the federal rules According to the local rules According to the judge’s…

Estate Planning: Three Lessons From Dead Celebrities

In 2011, pop diva Amy Winehouse joined the list of musicians who died at 27, which includes rock icons Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. Like Winehouse, Joplin and Morrison were drug addicts and appear to have died of overdoses. Unlike…

A Chat with Inder Comar, LRIS Panelist and International Human Rights Lawyer

Those who participate as attorney panelists in the Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) are up to some interesting things. Case in point: LRIS panel attorney Inder Comer, who mixes his IP and business practice with international human rights law.…

What Movie is Playing in Your Mediation?

Mediation works because, as the meme/trope goes: “We are not so different, you and I.” First: figure out what movie is playing inside the hearts and minds of party actors. Here sits a neighbor who can’t hear because of another…

Legal Ethics Corner: California Court of Appeal Upholds “In-Firm” Privilege

California recently joined a growing list of states that have issued published opinions recognizing an in-firm privilege. See, e.g., Moore v. Grau, 2014 N.H. Super. LEXIS 20 (N.H. Super. Ct. Dec. 15, 2014); Crimson Trace Corp. v. Davis Wright Tremaine…

Attorney Reception Welcomes New Admittees to Legal Community

Nearly 100 new attorneys, law students, and BASF members gathered for the third annual New Attorney Reception on January 28. The Bar Association of San Francisco and the Barristers Club were excited to welcome these new admittees into the BASF…