June 2016

Discovering the Delegation: How You Can Join the California Conference of Bar Associations and Change California Law

As attorneys we are often confronted by situations where a law simply does not work in the client’s favor. Similarly, we often jump hurdles and create workarounds to accommodate laws and policies that are outdated, ineffective or downright misguided. Sometimes…

Through the Looking Glass of the Depp-Heard Marriage

In the aftermath of the domestic violence allegations made by Amber Heard (“The Danish Girl”) about her husband of fifteen months, Johnny Depp (“Edward Scissorhands”), she is being accused of attempting to extort Depp into a generous financial settlement. Depp’s…

JDC Gala Sponsor Spotlight: McGuireWoods

Thank you, McGuireWoods, for your support! The Justice & Diversity Center invites your firm to become a sponsor of the JDC Gala too. The 2016 gala takes place on September 15 – it is the San Francisco legal community’s biggest annual fundraising…

2013 Scholarship Recipients Preparing for the Bar and Their Future

We are pleased to provide an update on three Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship recipients who graduated from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in May 2016. We are very proud of their accomplishments and eagerly…

BASF Welcomes Bill Helvestine and Tonya Salehi as Mediation Services Panelists

Bill Helvestine, Crowell & Moring, has more than 40 years’ experience handling complex business litigation. His recent work concentrated on the healthcare industry where he is a widely recognized expert, but his deep experience is not limited to healthcare. He…

Family Law Disclosure Forms: The Ins and Outs

In late April, BASF’s Paralegal Section hosted a presentation about Family Law disclosure forms. The speakers included David Blacker, a partner at Blacker, Sammis & Blacker; Patricia Pennington, RP®, a senior paralegal at Sideman & Bancroft; and Dennis Hanshew, a…

BASF, Barristers and JDC Boards Meetup

More than 45 members of BASF, JDC and the Barristers Club board of directors came together for an informal mixer at Munger, Tolles & Olson on June 8.

The Calming Voice on the Other End of the Line

The legal interviewers of the Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) are a team of professional individuals who bring an abundance of educational and life experience to their interactions with clients and attorneys. Far more than an “appointment scheduling service”…

Legal Writing Tip: Common Usage Errors, Continued

Here are more commonly confused words and expressions: E.g or I.e.? The first stands for the Latin expression exempli gratia and means “for example,” such as in the following sentence: “Vitamin B is found in a number of vegetables, e.g.,…

JDC Staff Attorney Defends Tenants Against Eviction

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) welcomes Taylor Pospichel back as a staff attorney at the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP). Pospichel worked at HAP as a legal advocate, then staff attorney, before becoming a senior staff attorney at the Eviction…

Attorney Volunteers with JDC to Help Ease Consumers’ Fears

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) is pleased to recognize Robert Fletcher as Volunteer of the Month for July. Fletcher has been a frequent and integral volunteer for JDC’s Consumer Project at the now bi-monthly Consumer Debt Defense and Education…

Shelter Clinic Provides Legal Services to Homeless

The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) thanks the attorney and law student volunteers of the Shelter Clinic, a project directed by JDC’s Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) attorneys Laura Chiera and Elinor Roberts. This project involves a close partnership between HAP,…

2016/06