BASF’s Paralegal Section was launched in January and, to date, there are more than 80 members. I am proud to say that one of the first firms to support this newly created section was my employer, Keker & Van Nest. In fact, the Keker firm is one of the first Leaders Circle firms to pay the BASF membership and section dues for all of its paralegals and practice support professionals.

Keker has a long history of leadership in BASF, having produced two presidents, the Hon. Jon Streeter (2004) and partner Chris Kearney (2013). In addition, partners Steve Hirsch and Quyen Ta currently co-chair BASF committees.

It was only natural for the firm to wholeheartedly support the creation of the Paralegal Section. Though already committed to providing training in-house, Managing Partner Steve Taylor jumped at the chance to partner with BASF once again and invest further in the professional development of his firm’s legal paraprofessionals. The Keker firm is proud to be on the cutting edge and invites other law firms and corporate legal departments in San Francisco to make the investment in their paralegals and other legal staff.

If you’re still on the fence about joining the section, here’s some information that will persuade you to take the leap!

Though still very young, the Paralegal Section has already had two very successful events. The kickoff reception on Wednesday, February 25 was very well-attended by professionals, paralegal students, legal staff and paralegal managers.

On March 25, the section hosted its first CLE training, “Can You Bill for That?” and approximately 75 paralegals and attorneys registered to attend.

The next scheduled event is a CLE titled “Employing Interns and Volunteers: What Laws You Need to Know” on May 27.

Finally, in honor of California Paralegal Day, the section will cohost a networking event with Golden Gate University School of Law on June 19.

In addition to CLE training and networking events, the section has big plans for the coming year! We plan to partner with the Justice & Diversity Center to provide a pipeline of volunteers for its various pro bono projects. We have created an email distribution list so that section members can share best practices and ideas, as well as post and seek jobs. If you have additional ideas about events or opportunities you’d like to see the Section provide, please share them! We are open to all feedback and want to be certain that we are meeting the needs of our members.

If you are not already a member, I invite you to visit the BASF website and peruse the information about the Paralegal Section. If there is anything we can do to assist you, don’t hesitate to contact any of the Executive Committee members. Our emails are listed on the website. We look forward to growing with you!