Imagine yourself as a 61-year old African-American from Oakland who has worked as a union plumber for 35 years. You read newspapers religiously, and know a few things about civil rights. You live in a rented converted garage in a…
Should we “put all citations in footnotes”—or not?
Everyone agrees legal brief writers should strive for clear, orderly prose and a coherent chain of argument. At the same time, we must show there is legal precedent for most of our assertions, and identify precisely these sources of support.…
Perfectly Matched Client and Attorney = Another Successful LRIS Referral
Mixing family matters with business matters can strain even the closest of relationships. The additions of a step-family, a church, various real estate holdings, possible elder financial abuse, and an inheritance, brought one family to the breaking point. In 2013,…
LRIS Welcomes New Immigration Case Coordinator
The San Francisco-Marin Lawyer Referral and Information Service welcomed Carlos Pinzon-Hamilton in December 2015 as its new Immigration Case Coordinator. Pinzon-Hamilton is responsible for organizing and admin-istering the Attorney of the Day immigration court calendar for the unrepresented families and…
Six-figure Settlement for Bicyclist Struck by Car
Anyone who walks, drives, or rides a bike in San Francisco knows that the streets can be a dangerous place where hundreds of “near misses” happen on a daily basis. Whether it be a person darting across the street against…
Legal Writing Tip: Losing the Legalese, Continued
As we discussed in last month’s column, good legal writing does not sound like it has been written by a lawyer, or worse, a committee of lawyers. That is the basic premise of the movement toward use of plain language…
How to Incorporate Legal Design into Your Practice
As lawyers we use words to explain complex ideas and persuade others to agree with our position. Thoughtful attorneys spend a lot of time honing their writing skills and take pleasure in carefully selecting the words they use. But too…
Let Jobs Come to You with the BASF Career Center
Having trouble finding the time to search through available jobs? Let BASF’s Career Center do the work for you! Create a personal job alert and new jobs that match your search criteria will be emailed directly to you. Our Job Alerts…
Legal Writing Tip: Let us Lose the Legalese
Why are so many legal briefs overwrought with stuffy, archaic verbiage where simple, plain English would do? We can blame it in part on our legal education. Slogging through page after page of mind-numbing text—the sort comprising the typical, aged…
Lawyer Referral and Information Service to Play Central Role in Coordinating Veteran’s Legal Services
In February 2014, BASF held its first ever San Francisco Veteran’s Summit which asked participants two fundamental questions: What are the challenges for veterans in connecting with service providers about their civil legal needs, and what system can we create…
Need Referrals? Join the San Francisco-Marin Lawyer Referral Service for Half the Price
With the start of a new year quickly approaching, why not try a new way to increase your revenue and grow your clientele? Join BASF’s SF-Marin Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS). January is the start of half-price membership time…
Three Tips for Attracting the Right Candidates
Having trouble attracting the right candidates? With the help of BASF’s job board, your open positions are distributed to our membership of 8,000 attorneys and legal professionals, and beyond, on multiple platforms. You can see a few recent listings to…