admin, Author at The Bar Association of San Francisco

Got Ethics? Join the Committee in 2016 to Stay Active in the Legal Community

In addition to holding its 4th Tuesday monthly meetings at BASF’s offices and staffing the BASF Legal Ethics Hotline, the active members of BASF’s Legal Ethics Committee have: regularly contributed to this Ethics Corner; jointly authored formal ethics opinions with…

Member Profile: Meet Shanti Ariker

BASF member Shanti Ariker is the Global General Counsel and Vice President of Salesforce.org. She is a graduate of The University of Virginia School of Law and was a BASF 2014 Award of Merit recipient for her significant contributions to BASF,…

Legal Writing Tip: Let us Lose the Legalese

Why are so many legal briefs overwrought with stuffy, archaic verbiage where simple, plain English would do? We can blame it in part on our legal education. Slogging through page after page of mind-numbing text—the sort comprising the typical, aged…

Lawyer Referral and Information Service to Play Central Role in Coordinating Veteran’s Legal Services

In February 2014, BASF held its first ever San Francisco Veteran’s Summit which asked participants two fundamental questions: What are the challenges for veterans in connecting with service providers about their civil legal needs, and what system can we create…

Cost-Effective Trial Tools

On March 24, 2015, I sat in the back of Judge Harold Kahn’s crowded courtroom in San Francisco Superior Court. The parties in the Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins sex discrimination case were delivering closing arguments. Both sides used modern…

Clinic Brings Essential Legal Services to Veterans

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) held its second annual Veterans Legal Services Clinic in November 2015 with Swords to Plowshares, Salesforce.com and Morrison & Foerster. Together, 14 veterans with 23 legal issues ranging from housing to family law issues,…

Family Law Corner Surrogate on the Hook for Child Support? The View from Pennsylvania Says No

Sherri Shepherd’s (The View) three-year fight to invalidate her surrogacy contract has established the law in Pennsylvania (In Re: Baby S.) on surrogacy contracts. The decision could not have come sooner for the gestational carrier, Jessica Bartholomew, a Pennsylvania resident.…

BASF Bulletin Board: Our Members and Leaders Circle Firms Making Headlines

Minority Bar Coalition Honors Local Attorneys The following BASF members were recognized with Unity Awards on behalf of their Minority Bar Coalition bar association: Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area: Ted Ting, Bank of America; The Bar…

Bay Area Judges and Attorneys Plant a Future with Incarcerated Youth

Inspired by past BASF President Stephanie Skaff’s “It Starts with a Day,” and continued by 2015 BASF President Tim Moppin, Jeff Bornstein, Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld, and Cloey Hewlett, Nossaman, organized the third trip to Log Cabin Ranch School…

Morrison & Foerster Attorney Named Judge

BASF member Stephen Freccero, a partner at Morrison & Foerster, was recently appointed to a Marin County Superior Court judgeship by Governor Brown. He is scheduled to take office on January 4 and fills the position vacated in 2014 when…

Body-Worn Police Cameras Hot Topic in 2015

In January 2015, the BASF Board of Directors commissioned its Criminal Justice Task Force to examine current practices impacting racial bias and discrimination in the San Francisco criminal justice system. One of the task force’s subcommittees reviewed body camera protocols…

David Abella, Former Scholarship Recipient Pays it Forward with Second Chances

The Justice & Diversity Center’s Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship program demonstrates a commitment to advancing diversity in the legal profession. The program awards diverse first-year Bay Area law students with a $30,000 scholarship, over three years, based on…