admin, Author at The Bar Association of San Francisco

Real Estate Attorney Volunteers Transactional Skills For Nonprofits

Through the Justice & Diversity Center’s (JDC) Community Organization Representation Project (CORP), real estate attorney Ian O’Banion has counseled four nonprofit organizations on lease compliance and renewal, rent increases, and subleasing space to other nonprofits. The nonprofits all serve low-income…

Fenwick & West Achieves a First in Justice & Diversity Center Pro Bono Cases

Congratulations to three Fenwick & West attorneys who won actual and punitive damages for a prison inmate assaulted by correctional officers: Lynn Pasahow; Amy Hayden and Abby Wald. For the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) and its Federal Pro Bono…

A Pro Bono Victory

I enjoy providing “bite-sized pro bono” at the Justice & Diversity Center’s walk-in legal clinic because I can give people brief advice instead of full representation. But one day an older couple came in because “Edwin” had been sued for…

Wanted: Nominees for Paralegal Awards and New Executive Committee Members

ANNUAL AWARDS How would you like to show some appreciation for your hard-working legal support staff? Now is your chance! The Paralegal Section of The Bar Association of San Francisco is accepting nominations of your dedicated non-attorney legal professionals for…

Hand Rule on Email Security

All California lawyers owe a duty of competence and confidentiality to their clients. California Rules of Professional Conduct (“CRPC”), Rules 3-110 and 3-100. As the Legal Ethics Corner of the BASF Bulletin previously noted, “competence in the digital milieu is…

Having it Your Way: Parental Alienation

Paul Anka, the ’50s pop star who rose to fame with such hits as “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and “Lonely Boy,” and who penned one of Frank Sinatra’s biggest hits, “My Way,” definitely had it his way in…

Joint Accounts and Parental Abuse

Joint Account Money May Not Be Yours Maria Higgins added her stepson, W. Clive Higgins, as the joint account holder on her checking and savings accounts. Later, Clive transferred some of Maria’s other accounts into accounts he owned with his…

Legal Writing Tip: Counter the “Rambo” Writer with a “Deflating Opener”

What should you do if your opponent, in her opposing brief, insults your arguments, or attacks your integrity in making them? What should you do if your opponent accuses you (by name, or not) of “disingenuity” and “misrepresentation,” or relies…

Meet the San Francisco Superior Court Judges Community Event Held in August

The Barristers Club Board of Directors, San Francisco Superior Court Presiding Judge Teri Jackson and Third Baptist Church Pastor Amos Brown hosted a Meet the Judges event on August 27. The event, which was sponsored by Morrison & Foerster, gathered…

Working Remotely is Possible for the Small Firm Owner

I’m on a last-minute flight back to San Francisco from Mexico due to an unexpected and fast-approaching hurricane. I’ve got a very important mediation in a couple of days, and just can’t risk being “stranded on a beach in Mexico”…

Risk Management Tip: Ethical Walls Can Protect Against Disqualifying Conflicts

Conflicts of interest might disqualify an entire law firm from representing clients who are adverse to each other in unrelated matters. Proposed amendments to the California Rules of Professional Conduct would allow the use of an ethical wall in certain…

Former Scholarship Recipient Receives Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship

Congratulation to 2011 Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship recipient Antonio Ingram. He is the first UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall grad to receive a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship. This particular fellowship requires applicants to have a law…