COVID-19 Archives

A health care professional kneels in protest as part of the movement, 'White Coats for Black Lives,' during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemic Constitutional Rights: Not an All-or-Nothing Proposition

The death toll associated with the novel coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, has surpassed 200,000 in the United States. To place this suffering in context, more Americans have died due to COVID-19 than all the American deaths suffered during the…

Attorney is working, with a scale on the table.

What It’s Like To Litigate Appeals During COVID-19

I’m the chairman of a specialty appellate law firm with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and I’m involved with a number of appellate-related local and federal committees and organizations. COVID-19 disruptions began to appear on my…

A graffiti drawing of both hands put next to each other with palms up. Both hands are painting in a variety of colors.

We All Need a Little Support: Modifying Support Orders During a Pandemic

On March 4, 2020, when Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in California in response to COVID-19, most Californians had no idea what the broad sweeping implications of this pandemic would mean. As months have gone by, households are…

Finding Opportunity in Challenging Times

This has been a year none of us expected. After so many months of doing things differently to minimize the risks of COVID-19, the memories of how things were at the beginning of the year, and last year, and the…

Managing Partners Mull Challenges, Share Strategies for Returning to Work

Twenty-six leaders from some of the Bay Area’s largest firms gathered virtually on June 22 to discuss challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and share strategies for reopening their offices. The meeting was hosted by BASF President Stuart Plunkett, Alston…

School Choice When Schools Are Closed?

As I write, the unprecedented 2019-2020 school year limps to an anti-climactic close for California’s K-12 students due to COVID-19. Parents are left wondering whether school will resume in-person in the Fall, and if so, will it be safe to…

The Pandemic’s Impact on Regulatory Enforcement

Confusion and Conflict Created by COVID-19 and Shelter-in-Place Orders Environmental investigations and remedial actions in the Bay Area were upended by COVID-19—not by the virus itself, but by the shelter-in-place orders and the various regulatory guidance directing what work could…

Change Amidst Calamity: How COVID-19 Changes the Legal Landscape for Diverse Attorneys

When the San Francisco Bay Area issued its shelter-in-place order on March 16, 2020, industries across the region scrambled to adapt. Restaurant owners transitioned to a takeout-only model, merchants boarded up their storefronts, and San Francisco’s public transportation system almost…

Small Firm Lawyers Adapt to New Reality

How are San Francisco’s solo and small firm lawyers handling the coronavirus pandemic from a business and personal standpoint? To find out, we interviewed—at a social distance, of course—a handful of lawyers across several practice areas. Our aim was to…

Co-Parenting During a Pandemic

The Bay Area issued its first Shelter-in-Place (SIP) orders effective March 16, 2020. San Francisco Superior Court, and other Bay Area courts, responded swiftly with its first orders regarding operations during the SIP. The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts…

COVID-19 Frontline Workers Project Expands to Help More Essential Workers

The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) and the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC), leading a group of Bay Area lawyers and organizations that provide free life planning assistance to qualified individuals, are excited to announce the expansion of the…

Why Music Matters In Our Professional Space During COVID-19

As we enter the twelfth week of the shelter-in-place order, we are all looking for peace in chaos, camaraderie in isolation, and productivity in malaise. From unconventional work-from-home practices to the ever-increasing screen time, lack-of-childcare complications to communal workspaces, stress…