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…
Member Profile: Yana Welinder
BASF member Yana Welinder is Legal Director at Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization that operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, a top ten internet property. Yana is a graduate of the…
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…
Justice & Diversity Center Announces 2016 Board of Directors
The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) recently confirmed its Board of Directors for 2016. Michael Tubach, O’Melveny & Myers, will serve as president; Merri Baldwin, Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, will serve as president-elect;…
Keep Your Client in Mind, the Ethics Will Follow
Your phone rings. Being a solo or small firm lawyer, you answer it yourself. The caller, after an exchange of pleasantries, says, “My mom needs a trust.” The flag that goes up in your mind should be, if not red,…
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…
Michael Tubach to Focus on Connecting New Attorneys with Clients Through Pro Bono Programs in 2016
Michael Tubach, a partner at O’Melveny & Myers, was officially installed as 2016 President on December 17, 2015 at The Bar Association of San Francisco’s Annual Membership Luncheon and Installation of Officers. In his inaugural speech, Tubach highlighted some areas…
Bay Area Firms Make the Holiday Brighter for Local Pre-School Kids
Thanks to more than 50 firms, legal organizations and individuals, pre-school kids from low-income families received gifts through BASF’s Head Start Holiday Gift Program. To see a list of participating firms, visit www.sfbar.org/headstart.
Lillian Kong Rejoins JDC as Staff Attorney
The Justice & Diversity Center welcomes Lillian Kong as its new Staff Attorney for the Community Organization Representation Project (CORP). During law school Kong was an AT&T-sponsored Housing Fellow at JDC; an extern at the National Immigration Law Center; and…
Donald Sterling Update: Appellate Court Confirms Clippers’ Sale
A probate judge had ruled Donald Sterling incompetent to manage his own trust, which included ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers. Sterling’s wife Shelley then became sole trustee and, though he tried to revoke the trust, she sold the team…
Volunteers Needed for Three-Hour Shifts at Mock Trial Tourney in February
The San Francisco Mock Trial Competition starts in February, and BASF’s Mock Trial Committee is looking for volunteers to serve as presiding judges and scorers for the preliminary rounds. What is Mock Trial? The students perform a mock trial addressing…
SFUSD Partners with BASF’s Mediation Program to Bring ADR into the Schools
Beginning in the fall of 2014, and under the initial leadership provided by retired San Francisco Judge Patrick Mahoney, representatives from BASF’s Mediation Services Program and key personnel at the San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) Special Education Department started…