UC Hastings Honors Alumni

UC Hastings College of the Law will celebrate the accomplishments of its alumni at its first ever UC Hastings Honors Gala on October 11. BASF member Simona Agnolucci, Keker & Van Nest, will be honored.

Daily Journal Announces Top Real Estate Attorneys

The following BASF members were included on The Daily Journal’s “California Top Real Estate Transactional Attorneys” list: Stephen Cowan, DLA Piper; Alan Gennis, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass; Philip Levine, Morrison & Foerster; Michael Liever and William Murray, both of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; and Mathew Wyman, Cox, Castle & Nicholson.

Elizabeth Cabraser Honored

The ABA’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS)  presented BASF member Elizabeth Cabraser, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, with its Pursuit of Justice Award, which recognizes her work representing plaintiffs and her leadership at her firm.

American Lawyer Announces Top 50 Innovators

BASF member Ralph Baxter, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, was included on the American Lawyer’s list of “Top 50 Innovators.” According to American Lawyer, Baxter was recognized for his cost-saving relocation of Orrick’s “back-office functions to a ‘global-operations center’” in West Virginia more than a decade ago.

BASF member Keith Wetmore, Morrison & Foerster, was also included on the list. According to American Lawyer, “Throughout his career, Wetmore has led initiatives that helped set new standards for gay rights in the law firm workplace. In the 1990s, for instance, MoFo became one of the first law firms to expand its benefits coverage to include same-sex partners; more recently, in 2010, it announced that it would offer health care tax offsets to employees and attorneys in same-sex domestic partnerships, one of the first firms to do so.”

BASF Member Appointed Chair of ABA Conference

BASF member Eric Tate, Morrison & Foerster, was recently appointed employer vice-chair of the ABA’s  2014 Labor and Employment Section Annual CLE Conference. The annual event is the country’s largest gathering of employer, employee, union and government employment lawyers. His one-year term began on August 13 at the conclusion of the 2013 ABA Annual Meeting.

Morrison & Foerster Partner Recognized for Life Sciences Work

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News recently recognized Morrison & Foerster Partner Mika Mayer as a “Life Sciences Superstar Under 40” for being the youngest person ever to make partner at Morrison & Foerster and for co-founding the nation’s first practice group devoted to investor due diligence of intellectual property.

A. Marisa Chun Makes Top Tech Attorneys List

BASF Member A. Marisa Chun, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery was recently recognized as a Top Woman Tech Attorney by The Recorder.

DLA Piper Partner Elected to Arbitration Association’s Board

DLA Piper recently announced that that partner Cedric Chao, has been elected to the American Arbitration Association’s (AAA) Board of Directors, a not-for-profit organization with a long history in the field of alternative dispute resolution.

Chao also currently serves as a U.S. representative to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and is one of 31 advisers to the American Law Institute project to draft the Restatement of the U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration.

Recorder Reader Survey Results Announced

Congratulations to the following BASF members and Leaders Circle firms [formerly known as Sponsor Firms] that were recognized as one of the best in their category in The Recorder’s annual reader poll:

Morgan Smith’s Cogent Legal was number one in the “Best Courtroom Presentation Provider” category.

Lieff Cabraser Heimann &  Bernstein was number one and Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger was voted number two in the “Best Personal Injury Law Firm.”

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger also placed number three in the “Best Malpractice Law Firm” category.

BASF Leaders Circle Firms Recognized for Pro Bono Work

The following BASF Leaders Circle firms were recognized by Law360 as the top Pro Bono Firms of 2013: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Arnold & Porter; Bingham McCutchen; Keker & Van Nest; Morrison & Foerster; O’Melveny & Myers and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

According to Law360, “Stagnant revenue, shrinking associate ranks and other ills of the U.S. legal industry didn’t weaken the commitment of 20 outstanding law firms to providing free legal services over the past year, earning them a spot on Law360’s Pro Bono Firms of 2013.”

Best Law Firms for Women Announced by Working Mother Magazine

The following BASF Leaders Circle firms were included on Working Mother magazine and Flex Time Lawyers “Best Law Firms for Women 2013” list: Cooley; Crowell & Moring; DLA Piper; Farella Braun + Martel; Foley & Lardner; Hanson Bridgett; Latham & Watkins; Littler Mendelson; O’Melveny & Myers; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Perkins Coie; Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman; and Shook, Hardy & Bacon.

BASF Leaders Circle Firms Take Part in Law Firm Sustainability Network

The Law Firm Sustainability Network (LFSN) is a nonprofit organization of law firms and legal departments committed to promoting the benefits of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility throughout the legal industry. The following BASF Leaders Circle firms are included on its Leadership Council and Board of Directors: Beveridge & Diamond, Drinker Biddle & Reath, Morrison & Foerster, and Nixon Peabody.