Practice Area Corner Archives

Duties to Former Clients and Termination of Representation Under the New Rules of Professional Conduct

New California Rules of Professional Conduct (“CRPC”), Rule 1.9, describes an attorney’s duties to a former client and is divided into three categories. Subsection (a) prohibits a lawyer who represented a client from representing another person in the same…

Risk Management: California’s Mediation Confidentiality Disclosure

California lawyers must disclose the confidentiality rules that apply to mediation to their client before the mediation. California Evidence Code section 1129 ensures that attorneys make their clients aware of the confidentiality rules related to mediation, including that communications…

It’s Time to Cut the Cord to 24/7 Availability

Picture this: You’re enjoying time with friends on a Saturday night when you get an alert on your phone. It’s your supervising attorney, reminding you of an upcoming deadline in an important case. Just like that, your work anxieties prance…

R. Kelly Can’t Fly Away from Child Support Contempt

R. Kelly (aka Robert Kelly) may have once believed he could fly, but no longer. Famous for hits such as “I believe I can fly” and “Bump n’ Grind,” Kelly has been under the microscope recently after two documentaries…

Cooperative Federalism in Class Actions

A computer maker knows that its laptops will break after a few months because of a manufacturing problem, but sells them without disclosing the problem or its effects. Can people who bought the laptops in California recover under the…

BASF Because…

Third Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference Once Again a Success

On January 31, 2019, The Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Solo and Small Firm Section hosted its third Annual Solo & Small Firm Conference: Level Up Your Law Practice. With well over a hundred attendees, exceptional presentations, engaging…

‘Magic Words’ Gave Wife the Condo

When Farima Kushesh-Kaviani and Wishtasb Kushesh split, the divorce hinged on one of the spoils of their brief marriage: a condominium. Only Farima was on its mortgage application, loan, and deed, and Wishtasb signed an interspousal transfer grant deed calling…

Law Beats Blood Thanks to Japanese Adoption Tradition

Fusae and Emi Obata were found dead in their San Lorenzo, California, home in 2013, their bodies discovered when their mail carrier noticed the elderly sisters’ deliveries piling up. Though they died alone—they never married or had children—their probate proceeding…

Paralegal Pro Tips

It does not matter if you are a new paralegal or an old pro—we have one of the hardest jobs in the legal field. If we are good, we are the glue that holds everything together. While this can…

BASF Mediation Services Welcomes Back Dr. Urs Martin Laeuchli

After a brief time traveling and working abroad, Dr. Urs Martin Laeuchli is returning to BASF’s Bay Area Mediation Services panel. Dr. Laeuchli is an international attorney with over twenty years’ experience in ADR. He mediates international commercial, insurance, real estate, family, education, and…

BASF Mediation Services Panelists: A Wide Spectrum of Skills

Do you have cases ripe for mediation? Below you will find a selection of some the Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Mediation Services panelists and their areas of expertise. BASF mediators can assist with almost any type of dispute,…

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