BASF’s Solo and Small Firm Section boasts extremely active involvement from its members. Monthly happy hours, brown bag lunch meetings as well as an active solo and small firm listserv are just a few of the perks of belonging to…
Show Me… Divorce-Related Lawsuits: Steve Harvey’s Family Feud
Steve Harvey is no stranger to bad press. Harvey famously named the wrong winner when hosting the Miss Universe pageant, got into hot water for comments about the attractiveness of Asian men, and had a very public, contentious divorce from…
How to Prevent the Leading Cause of Malpractice Claims
Are you still using Outlook, spreadsheets or hand-written “cheat sheets” to track crucial calendar deadlines? It’s time to seriously evaluate your processes. On March 22, 2017, Joseph C. Scott, J.D. spoke at a BASF CLE titled Calendaring as a Risk…
Prop 47: The Full Employment Act for Solo Appellate Defenders
Passed by California voters in November 2014, Proposition 47 provides that various theft and drug offenses can no longer be charged as felonies. The law also allows defendants with prior felony convictions for those offenses to have them reduced to…
The High Price of California's Failure to Fund Dependency Counsel
“State intervention in the lives of families, even when absolutely necessary, is a traumatic experience for children and parents alike.” Indeed, “here are hardly more consequential acts the government can take than deciding whether to remove a child from the…
Community Law Practice Incubator Profile: Nick Goldman
Nick Goldman has been many things over the course of his life—veteran, realtor, paralegal, and now solo attorney. His past experiences have not only taught Nick valuable lessons but have all seemingly come together to prepare him for life as…
Community Law Practice Incubator Profile: Jubilee Menzies
Most solo attorneys don’t start out with a specific niche, but most solo attorneys aren’t Jubilee Menzies. A graduate of Boston College Law School, Jubilee spent six years practicing antitrust, consumer protection, and class action litigation in San Francisco before…
Community Law Practice Incubator: Solo Never Alone
This past fall, The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF), in partnership with the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) and the Lawyer Referral and Information Service, started the Community Law Practice Incubator (CLPI). CLPI began as an initiative of 2016…
Community Law Practice Incubator Profile: Christina Sava
Christina Sava is not your typical attorney. She has an ace up her sleeve. Or in her mind. Christina practices mindfulness meditation as a means to handle the day-to-day stress of her practice and a busy urban lifestyle. She also…
Community Law Practice Incubator Profile: Jason Yee
Jason Yee is a man on a mission. You may see him in the halls of BASF, at the immigration court, or at a community naturalization event, combining old-fashioned hard work with new age efficiency. Jason, a graduate of UC…
Risk Management Tip: Attorney-Client Privilege Depends on the Forum
Prior to the verdict in Wadler v. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., et al (U.S.D.C. No. CA No. 15-cv-02356-JCS), a wrongful termination case, Bio-Rad’s public relations machine had framed a narrative of an out-of-touch, long-term in-house attorney who collected a paycheck but…
BASF Welcomes Mediator to its Panel
The Bar Association of San Francisco welcomes Allan Schwartz to its Bay Area Mediation Services panel. Schwartz’s specialty is small to medium sized cases. His fee structure is commensurate. Schwartz states his prime goal in mediation is to help place…