New Law. On January 1, a new California law will take effect. It will require a lawyer to make sure their client understands the implications of California’s legal protections for mediation communications, before the client agrees to mediation. If the…
Mindfulness Practice: Managing Everyday Stress by Cultivating Presence of Mind
Paralegal work can be extremely stressful. Beyond your regular assignments, you frequently deal with impossible deadlines and angry clients, all while performing secretarial, administrative and/or clerical work. Your mind is constantly pulled from one project to another, between work and…
BASF Welcomes Grace Seferian to its Bay Area Mediation Services Panel
Grace Seferian is an expert in the field of construction with over 20 years of experience in the industry as a program and construction manager professional. Seferian is also an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) specialist with expertise in mediation, arbitration and Dispute Review…
Utilizing the UIDDA to Navigate Out-of-State Business Records Subpoenas
Preparing and serving out-of-state business records subpoenas can seem like a daunting task to the most experienced California paralegal. Fortunately, the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA), enacted in 2007, can help demystify this task. Use the following steps…
The Countess: Money Can’t Buy You Class or Apparently a Good Divorce Agreement
Countess Luann de Lesseps of “The Real Housewives of New York” has found herself at odds with her ex-husband, Count Alexandre de Lesseps and their adult children, Noel and Victoria, over a home purchased for $3.1 million in 2013. According…
Time To Refresh Your Conflicts Check Procedures
You are a partner in a mid-sized firm. A conflicts check clears before your meeting with prospective client Alice. The meeting is productive and you agree to represent Alice in litigation. During a partner meeting a few weeks later, you…
BASF Welcomes Jenny Y. Kim to Bay Area Mediation Services Panel
Jenny Y. Kim is a certified mediator who has mediated hundreds of hours in commercial and residential landlord tenant cases, civil harassment, and other civil disputes. She serves as a co-chair of the ADR Executive Committee of the Alameda County…
No Time to Waste: New Ethics Rules Effective November 1, 2018
Beginning November 1, 2018, every California attorney will be required to conduct themselves in accordance with 69 new rules of professional conduct, replacing the 46 rules we currently must follow. Lawyers and law firms have only a few months to…
California Supreme Court Clarifies Test for Independent Contractor Classification
Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, No. S222732 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Apr. 30, 2018), which simplified and clarified the test for determining whether a…
Pitt and Jolie: Brangelina Fight Club Redux 2018
“Brangelina” is the Family Law Corner gift that keeps on giving. CNN obtained the most recent custody order in their ongoing dispute, wherein a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge found that that the former couple’s six children “not having a…
Kevin Federline to Britney Spears: Gimme More’ Child Support
Apparently, Britney Spears is not interested in paying more child support to Kevin Federline for their two sons together. Federline receives $20,000 per month from Spears, and he claims that he should receive three times that amount because Spears’ income…
BASF Welcomes Dean A. Christopherson to the Bay Area Mediation Services Panel
Drawing on more than thirty years of practice in commercial, banking and real estate litigation, Dean Christopherson, Dawe & Christopherson, has a successful track record as an evaluative mediator, using a cordial and attentive approach. After reviewing briefs and holding…