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Four Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Recipients Announced

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco recently announced the recipients of its 2017 Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarships. Thanks to the generosity of donors, four scholarships will be awarded to minority students…

Probate Mediator Joins BASF Mediation Panel

The Bar Association of San Francisco welcomes Margaret Hand to its Bay Area Mediation Services panel. Margaret M. Hand, Hartog, Baer & Hand, has been mediating disputes arising under the Probate Code since 2004 and has litigated these disputes since…

Legal Ethics Corner: Two’s a Company, Three Might Get You Disqualified: The Ethics of Joint Representation

Amy retains Attorney to prosecute a personal injury action for an arm fracture she sustained in an automobile accident. Amy asks Attorney to meet with Bill who was rendered quadriplegic by the same accident. Bill’s claim is clearly more “valuable”…

Volunteer Attorney Offers Life-Changing Family Law Assistance

Professionally, Jennifer Letulle practices a wide range of civil law, including contracts, employment, design defect and professional liability. Family law isn’t part of her day job but that hasn’t stopped her from representing 35 family law clients through the Justice…

District Judge William H. Orrick Honored at Barristers Club 33rd Annual Judges Reception

The Barristers Club of The Bar Association of San Francisco presented its Tara L. Riedley Barristers Choice Award at the 33rd Annual Judges Reception on July 19 to United States District Judge William H. Orrick, United States District Court for…

Mock Trial Volunteers Needed

Mock Trial is now accepting volunteer coaches for its 2017-2018 academic year. Help under-served students in San Francisco’s public high schools learn the fundamentals of debate: mastering critical reading; practicing effective thinking and verbalizing; and participating in a team effort…

Representing Consumers Facing Debt Collection Clears “Insurmountable Obstacles”

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass scored another win for a JDC client facing questionable debt collection efforts with no means to fight back. The National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts (NCSLT) had sued the client and alleged he owed $115,000 on…

Fenwick & West Achieves a First in JDC Pro Bono Cases

Congratulations to Fenwick & West attorneys Lynn Pasahow; Amy Hayden and Abby Wald who won actual and punitive damages for a prison inmate assaulted by correctional officers:. For the Justice & Diversity Center, this is the first trial of a…

Risk Management Tip: Beware of Broad Subject Matter Waivers of the Attorney-Client Privilege

We have been examining the role attorney-client privileged information played in Sanford Wadler’s trial victory over his former employer, Bio-Rad. Bio-Rad engaged in actions the court concluded were express waivers of attorney-client privilege under federal law, allowing Wadler to use…

Small Firm, Big Leaves – A Planning Guide

An attorney taking an extended leave of absence or sabbatical can be difficult for any law firm to manage, and particular challenges arise for small firms where there may only be a few—or even no—other attorneys to cover the caseload…

10 Red Flags of Potentially Difficult Clients

Paralegals and other non-attorney professionals are often tasked with the initial potential client intake interview. The first consideration is to determine if there is any conflict of interest in communicating with the potential client. All legal practices should have a…

Compensation From One Other Than Your Client, The Bank of Mom and Dad and Others, Beware

The California Rules of Professional Conduct (CRPC) generally prohibit representation of adverse interests without a conflict waiver. Subparagraph (F) of CRPC 3-310 imposes disclosure and consent requirements when attorneys are compensated by someone other than the attorney’s client. (For California…