June 2014

2011 Scholarship Recipient Antonio Ingram: Next Stop Morrison & Foerster

BASF’s 2011 Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship recipient Antonio Ingram graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law this past May. Over the last three years, Ingram has shown why he was so deserving of the scholarship and why it was such a great investment by donors to the scholarship…

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…

Legal Writing Tip: Avoid Legal Clichés

Clichés in writing extend far beyond stories that begin, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Legal writing, too, is often loaded with overused phrases that have lost their oomph, whether it be idioms or literary and pop culture references.…

Barristers Keeping Busy in June

True Grit and Growth Mindset Workshop Happy Hour at Harlot: SF Learn more about the activities of the Barristers Club at www.sfbar.org/barristers.

Local Student Makes National Headlines; Receives Mentoring from BASF Member and Staff

When you think of someone with a 5.0 grade point average and a 2100 SAT score, you usually think of a student that has a private school education, and also someone that is has their head stuck in a book at all times. Meet Akintunde…

415-989-1616: More than Just a Phone Number

The legal interviewers of The Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) are a team of professional, compassionate, and skilled individuals. Far more than a “hotline” or a “1-800” number, the services provided run the gamut from referral counselor to case assessor to…

Making The Most of Your Sixty Seconds: Crafting Your Personal Elevator Pitch

On June 3 The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Barristers Club hosted the “Summer Business Development Boost: It’s Your Minute” program to help, among others, young attorneys perfect their “elevator” pitch. Keynote speaker Brian Rashid, J.D. shared useful tips to…

Mediating Environmental Disputes, Part 2: Challenges of NGO and Government Agency Participants

Read the first part: Mediating Environmental Disputes, Part I: Addressing the Long Term in the Present Mediation is an especially useful forum for environmental disputes because it can be set up to include various constituencies essential to a long term environmental remediation process and a…

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.…

JDC Welcomes Homeless Advocacy Project Summer Interns

This summer, JDC’s Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) welcomes four interns who will work on eviction defense cases with Staff Attorney Erin Katayama. Seamus Brugh attends University of San Francisco School of Law, where he is a research assistant for Professor Tim Iglesias, and a member of the…

HAP Client Brought to Tears By the Advocacy of Her Attorney

Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) client Kreasha Wilson had lived in her public housing apartment for 22 years. In 2012, she left for a month to take care of the father of her children who had become permanently paralyzed in an accident. While she was away, strangers…

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