Resources Archives

BASF Welcomes Headnote as Member Benefits Provider

The Bar Association of San Francisco welcomes its newest Member Benefits partner: Headnote. Headnote is the most modern and client-friendly payment experience in the legal industry. Whether you are a solo attorney or large law firm, adding Headnote payments to your…

Legal Writing Tip: Introduce Block Quotes

Occasionally, you will need to quote four or more lines (50 or more words) of text from a key source, such as when the precise wording matters of say, a particular statute or regulation. And, every now and then, a…

Risk Management: Conflicts In The 21st Century

In California Self-Insurers’ Security Fund v. Superior Court, (2018) 19 Cal.App.5th 1065, the Court of Appeal held that disqualification of an entire firm was not mandatory where an attorney from one firm “switched sides” and joined another firm during litigation,…

Avoid block quotations; use only the “hearts” of quotes

Effective legal writers avoid block quotations and quote supporting authorities sparingly. They do not create their briefs by stringing together a list of long quotes. Instead, they make the arguments and points in their own words—blending the heart of a…

The Limits of Advance Waivers

Law firms have aggressively pursued advance waivers to represent concurrent clients whose interests conflict in unrelated matters. For example, Law Firm represents Client A in an action against Client B. Normally, this representation would preclude Law Firm from representing Client…

Legal Writing Tip: More on Modifiers

This month, we offer a few final words on the use of modifiers: Avoid nesting them in a single sentence and make sure to clarify their reach. Here’s an example of a sentence containing a set of modifying phrases, each…

Legal Writing Tip: Don’t Misplace Your Modifiers or Let Them “Squint”

A misplaced modifier is one that is improperly separated from the word (or “element”) it is intended to describe, restrict, or alter. When the modifier within a sentence lacks a clear referent, the sentence often sounds ridiculous, or confusing. This…

Risk Management: Duties Of Partners In A Dissolving Firm

Nearly ten years after international law firm Heller Ehrman closed its doors, the California Supreme Court addressed whether the dissolved firm had any interest in the hourly-fee legal matters former partners continued to handle. In Heller Ehrman LLP v. Davis…