June 2015

DLA Piper Band Wins Fundraising Competition

Congratulations to Def Piper, BASF Leader Circle Firm DLA Piper’s, band that recently won band fundraising competition LawRocksSF. The legal professionals from DLA Piper, Gigya, and OPOWER rocked hard for Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic (CROC), raising over $22,000 between…

Dealing with Workplace Bullying

Small and solo law firm attorneys should expect to hear more about workplace bullying. As of January 1, 2015, mandatory anti-harassment training by employers must contain an anti-bullying component. Covered employers must provide supervisory employees with training about prevention of…

Post-Threat Analysis: SCOTUS reverses conviction in online threats case

On June 1, 2015, in Elonis v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that a Pennsylvania man’s conviction for posting threatening Facebook posts regarding his estranged wife was a reversible error. The Supreme Court held…

SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Marriage Equality Nation-Wide

11 years of dedication to marriage equality: The timeline below, culminating in today’s landmark SCOTUS opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, starts in 2004 when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

BASF LGBT Issues Committee Releases Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage

A statement from BASF’s LGBT Issues Committee Chairs Peter Catalanotti and Robert Gower: On June 26, the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges and related cases, providing a definitive and affirmative answer…

Past President Bequests $25,000 to the Justice & Diversity Center

As the first woman president of The Bar Association of San Francisco, Joanne Garvey was a trailblazer for women attorneys, including being the first woman to serve on the California State Bar’s Board of Governors and its first female vice…

Outstanding Volunteers Honored at Annual Reception

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) celebrated the top 15 percent of its volunteers, and specially recognized four individuals and a law firm, at the annual Appreciation Celebration on May 12. Guest of honor Chief Justice of California Tani G.…

2015 JDC Gala Chairs Announced

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco is pleased to announce the chairs for its annual gala: Charles Birenbaum, Greenberg Traurig and Kimberly Taylor, Charles Schwab. Please join us at the Gala on Thursday,…

Battery Liability for Offending Unusually Sensitive Sense of Personal Dignity

Under new rules, promulgated by the powerful American Law Institute, offending ultra-sensitive people now carries battery liability. In the olden days, battery was considered an offensive “unwanted touching” based on the reasonable person standard, for example, grabbing a menu out…

May a California lawyer ethically represent a client in respect to a medical marijuana enterprise in California?

Recognizing the conundrum that conflicting state and federal laws create in California in light of the Compassionate Use Act, The Bar Association of San Francisco Legal Ethics Committee composed the first bar association opinion on ethical considerations for California attorneys…

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee Must Obtain Court Approval Before Paying Taxes

In In re Cloobeck, 14 C.D.O.S. 5982, No. 23-15432 (9th Cir. June 12, 2015), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee must notify creditors, set a hearing or opportunity for…

Top Secret: What's Happening at BASF?

2015/06