BASF’s Litigation Section will be hosting its annual Bench Bar Conference on October 16 to bring together judges, academics, and attorneys to discuss research on the science of decision making and persuasion. The event, entitled “Is Litigation More of a…
Innovation Needed to Attract Silicon Valley In-House Counsel
In a meeting billed as the “In-House Counsel Summit” on Wednesday afternoon, a panel of three legal leaders from prominent Silicon Valley hi-tech companies moderated by David Bruns, Director of Client Services at Farella Braun + Martel LLP, spoke to…
Tips for Better Presenting Photographs in Court
This article was first published by Michael Kelleher on the Cogent Legal Blog at cogentlegal.com/blog/2014/08/tips-for-photographs-in-court Well-presented photographs are powerful tools for litigators. In this post, I’ll share some samples that show how we’ve helped litigators use photographs in court, along with a…
Family Law Corner: Differing “Views” on Surrogacy
Sherri Shepherd’s (formerly of “The View”) divorce has been one juicy headline after another. First, Shepherd and her husband, Lamar Sally, filed for divorce in different states. Their respective filings forced them to publicly acknowledge the existence of a prenuptial agreement and the pending birth of a child…
Staying Present at Contentious Mediations
With BASF’s Putting for the Pipeline golf tournament coming in October, my mind turned to the similarities between the most mental of all sports and mediation. Playing golf is much more than hitting a ball with a club. As any golfer will attest, it raises mental pressures,…
Child Abduction Warnings and Pitfalls: The Fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez
Child abduction is the ultimate act of parental alienation and child abuse. According to the Department of Justice, each year more than 200,000 children become victims. Children who are abducted, whether by a person unknown to the child or by…
Legal Ethics Corner: Legal Malpractice Statute of Limitations Does Not Apply to Claims Based on Misappropriation of Client Funds
In Lee v. Hanley, 174 Cal.Rptr.3d 489 (2014), the Court of Appeal recently held that the legal malpractice statute of limitations does not necessarily bar a former client’s complaint against her attorney alleging the attorney refused to return unearned legal fees. The former client claimed that her…
Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning
Frank Sinatra Planned Well Frank Sinatra died in 1993. A corporation he controlled owned his most valuable asset — the right to his name and likeness. He was well aware of the bitterness between his second wife, Barbara, and his kids from a prior marriage to…
Legal Ethics Corner: Law Practice in the Cloud — Just Be Careful
The rent’s too high, we don’t have room for storage anymore, everyone is going paperless. Let’s move our practice into the cloud. Have you heard of this before? Perhaps you are already using the cloud. What is the cloud? Cloud computing is using the server of…
Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning
Whitney Houston: The Burden of Inheritance Whitney Houston’s mother and sister-in-law recently filed a petition to change the terms of Houston’s will, which was last updated nearly 20 years ago. They want to delay the distribution of millions to Houston’s only child, Bobbi Kristina, 19, in…
Can Bitcoin be Used as Collateral to Secure a Loan?
Problems arise when a lender attempts to accept Bitcoin as collateral to secure a loan. More problems arise when Bitcoin makes up a portion of the lender’s collateral without the lender’s knowledge. It is best to address these issues in…
Family Law Corner: Shepherd’s View of Divorce Does Not Look Pretty
Sherri Shepherd may seem to talk about anything and everything as a co-host of The View, but when it comes to her personal life, she can keep a secret. When Shepherd’s husband, Lamar Sally, filed for legal separation in California, he also requested custody of their child.…