Resources Archives

Risk Management Tip: Understanding Duties to Third Parties, Part 2

An attorney’s primary duty to a client is tempered by the overriding duty in all settings to be truthful. In the transactional setting there is no protection for attorneys from claims by non-clients when an attorney engages in affirmatively deceitful…

Legal Writing Tip: Heed the Bench’s Preferences

Ross Guberman, the acclaimed legal writing consultant and author of Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates and Point Taken: How to Write Like the World’s Greatest Judges, surveyed thousands of judges—ranging from those serving at…

Setting Injustice Right: Tenant’s Wrongful Eviction Generates Half Million Dollars in Damages

In March 2016, SF-Marin Lawyer Referral and Information Services (LRIS) Supervisor, Antonio Hernandez, fielded an incoming call. The caller was a 64-year old artist and maintenance person to a collection of apartments in exchange for rent. He lived on the…

Risk Management Tip: Understanding Duties to Third Parties, Part 1

The primary duty to a non-client is to be truthful. This month we examine this duty in litigation. Generally, attorneys owe no duty to a non-client. In Goodman v. Kennedy (1976) 18 Cal.3d 335, purchasers alleged they were damaged because…

Law Firm Differentiation – Going Beyond “Full Service” & “Client Focused”

On October 12, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association hosted a panel discussion about law firm differentiation. The panelists included two senior law firm marketers — Brian Colucci, Chief Marketing Officer at Kilpatrick Townsend &…

Legal Writing Tip: Include a Summary of Argument

Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, opening briefs must include a summary of argument that appears after the statement of the issues and the statement of the case, and before the arguments section. (Fed. Rules App. Proc., rule 28(a)(5-7),…

Lawyer Referral Service Participates in Fleet Week Event

The SF-Marin Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) was invited to participate at the SF Fleet Week Veterans’ Resource Fair. Bilingual legal interviewer Princess Bustos provided attendees with materials related to available low-cost legal services. Robert White, Chief Operating Office,…

Seeking Bilingual Spanish Speaking Attorneys with Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts Experience

The San Francisco-Marin Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) is currently seeking bilingual Spanish speaking attorneys with experience in Estate Planning, Wills, and Trusts. If you would like to receive referrals of pre-screened cases in this area of practice the…

Legal Writing Tip: Counter a Multitude of Misstatements with Paralipsis

As we discussed last month, the deflating opener, also called the swift rejoinder, can take the wind out of an opposing brief replete with insults and overblown rhetoric—in one or two paragraphs. In a similarly efficient fashion, a paralipsis can…

Legal Writing Tip: Counter the “Rambo” Writer with a “Deflating Opener”

What should you do if your opponent, in her opposing brief, insults your arguments, or attacks your integrity in making them? What should you do if your opponent accuses you (by name, or not) of “disingenuity” and “misrepresentation,” or relies…

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…

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.…

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