All California lawyers owe a duty of competence and confidentiality to their clients. California Rules of Professional Conduct (“CRPC”), Rules 3-110 and 3-100. As the Legal Ethics Corner of the BASF Bulletin previously noted, “competence in the digital milieu is…
Having it Your Way: Parental Alienation
Paul Anka, the ’50s pop star who rose to fame with such hits as “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and “Lonely Boy,” and who penned one of Frank Sinatra’s biggest hits, “My Way,” definitely had it his way in…
Joint Accounts and Parental Abuse
Joint Account Money May Not Be Yours Maria Higgins added her stepson, W. Clive Higgins, as the joint account holder on her checking and savings accounts. Later, Clive transferred some of Maria’s other accounts into accounts he owned with his…
Working Remotely is Possible for the Small Firm Owner
I’m on a last-minute flight back to San Francisco from Mexico due to an unexpected and fast-approaching hurricane. I’ve got a very important mediation in a couple of days, and just can’t risk being “stranded on a beach in Mexico”…
Risk Management Tip: Ethical Walls Can Protect Against Disqualifying Conflicts
Conflicts of interest might disqualify an entire law firm from representing clients who are adverse to each other in unrelated matters. Proposed amendments to the California Rules of Professional Conduct would allow the use of an ethical wall in certain…
Attorney/Arbitrator/Mediator Robert Jacobs Joins BASF Mediation Services
BASF welcomes Attorney/Arbitrator/Mediator Robert Jacobs to its Bay Area Mediation Services panel. Jacobs helps parties settle disputes by focusing early on key issues. Parties who mediate with him find he is both fair and persuasive. During the course of his 30 years of litigation…
Family Law Corner: Divorce is No Laughing Matter For Comedian Ron White
In late June, singer-songwriter Margo Rey filed for divorce in Los Angeles from comedian Ron White (known as “Tater Salad”), claiming that although they were married in California in 2013, they were common-law married in Texas in 2008. White became…
Absence of Court Reporters in Family Law Courts = Access to Justice Denied
California courts’ ongoing funding crisis is failing those most vulnerable. Since 2009, the nation’s largest judicial branch has experienced budget cuts in the hundreds of millions of dollars, resulting in drastically reduced court staffing and services in most of California’s 58 counties. Even as…
Incorporating Pro Bono Work into a Solo or Small Firm Practice
It is important that all of us attorneys strive to incorporate pro bono work into our practices. Although doing so in a solo or small firm practice setting presents some unique challenges, it is not only possible to do, but…
Probate Mediator Joins BASF Mediation Panel
The Bar Association of San Francisco welcomes Margaret Hand to its Bay Area Mediation Services panel. Margaret M. Hand, Hartog, Baer & Hand, has been mediating disputes arising under the Probate Code since 2004 and has litigated these disputes since…
Legal Malpractice Corner: Risk Management Tip – SEC Reporting Rules Preempts California’s Attorney-Client Privilege
Over the past three months this column has reviewed attorney Sanford Walder’s trial victory over his former employer, Bio-Rad. Among other attorney-client privilege issues, the district court examined whether California law is preempted by regulations promulgated under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.…
Legal Ethics Corner: Two’s a Company, Three Might Get You Disqualified: The Ethics of Joint Representation
Amy retains Attorney to prosecute a personal injury action for an arm fracture she sustained in an automobile accident. Amy asks Attorney to meet with Bill who was rendered quadriplegic by the same accident. Bill’s claim is clearly more “valuable”…