A new client requests your services. You run your conflict check and discover that the requested matter is against a former client. What are your ethical obligations? Can you represent this new client? Is the former client a former…
Five Timeless Tips to Make Every Minute Count
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so when you do it, it’s not all messed up.” – Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh 000000 1.The Rule of Five: Do It Now We often think, “I’ll get to…
Brangelina, Interrupted
The demise of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s marriage has captured headlines everywhere. Jolie and Pitt (collectively known as “Brangelina”) recently announced the end of their eleven-year relationship (though the marriage was only two years). The pair famously went public…
Legal Writing Tip: Draft the Main Issue First
Well-trained journalists learn a critical commandment early in their careers: never start writing until you know the story. Or, as novelist John Irving put it in Writers on Writing, “Never start writing until you know … as much of the…
Retired Attorney Learns New Area of Law to Aid San Francisco’s Most Vulnerable
The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) is grateful for our Volunteer of the Month, Jim Leigh. Leigh handles Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits cases for clients at the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP). HAP’s clients are homeless or at imminent risk of…
Yosemite Conference: Come for the CLE, Stay for the Scenery
It has been said that “for everything there is a season.” Well, for 41 years, winter has been the season for the Labor and Employment Section’s Yosemite Conference. The Yosemite Conference is the section’s flagship event, bringing together lawyers…
Longtime BASF Staff Member Retires
Barbara Fanning, who joined BASF in 1975 retired in September. Serving under 42 presidents and several executive directors, Fanning held the titles of Director of Continuing Legal Education, Director of Special Events, Director of Publications, BASF Board Liaison, to name…
2017 BASF Board of Directors Announced; Stuart Plunkett Named Secretary
BASF recently announced its new board members for 2017 as well as its 2017 Secretary. President-Elect Merri Baldwin, Rogers Joseph & O’Donnell, will succeed to the office of the president in 2017; Malcolm Heinicke, Munger, Tolles & Olson, will serve…
Gala Celebrates Legal Community’s Committment to Pro Bono and Diversity Programs
More than five hundred attorneys and legal professionals, representing ninety-five firms and legal departments, were in attendance to celebrate the work of the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco on September 15 at JDC’s…
Law Firm Technology: Must-Read Resources at the San Francisco Law Library
The San Francisco Law Library maintains a comprehensive Law Practice Management Collection, with publications that detail all aspects of opening a practice—hanging your shingle, billing, marketing, finances, risk management, technology, and more. This post introduces the Law Library’s LPM resources…
Timothy Halloran Jumps Through Hoops to Make A Difference
In 2009, while talking to a parent from a public high school at a basketball tournament, BASF member Timothy Halloran, Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney, discovered that San Francisco’s Mission High School Girls Varsity Basketball team was without a…
Estate Planning Corner: Last Chance for Valuation Discount Planning and More
…………….. Valuation Discount Planning The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed regulations that will make it more difficult for families to engage in valuation discount planning as soon as January 1, 2017. This could potentially make this the last opportunity to…