Law and Disorder Night
Interesting News from the World of Estate Planning
Princess Diana The estate of Princess Diana was not handled with the same grace, dignity and class that she exuded in life. Diana left a “letter of wishes” asking her executors to “divide, at discretion,” her personal property and…
Legal Ethics Corner: Your Client Has Dementia. Now What?
Can an attorney call adult protective services (APS) when the attorney’s client has dementia and needs protection, but has not expressly authorized the APS call? Under certain circumstances, yes. One of the most difficult things for counsel to see is…
Members Guide Next Generation of Attorneys Through Mentorship
According to the American Bar Association, in 2012 there were 1,268,011 licensed lawyers in the United States. However, in 2010 only 4.8% of attorneys were Black, 3.7% Hispanic and 3.4% Asian Pacific American. In the 2011- 2012 academic year the…
BASF Mind the Gap Program Recognized by American Bar Association
Mind the Gap (MTG), a BASF program established under the direction of 2013 President Chris Kearney of Keker & Van Nest, recently won three awards at the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Conference in August. MTG was honored with the…
Volunteer Social Worker Creatively Solves Problems at JDC’s Free Legal Clinics
The Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) recognizes volunteer social worker Yana Lavrick as our Volunteer of the Month for October. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Lavrick holds Masters Degrees in both Psychology and Social Work. After moving to…
Family Law Corner: No Cameras, Mouth Running or YouTube as Diva Carey Asks Husband for Divorce Confidentiality
In the wake of Nick Cannon going on Twitter to rant about how he would “never…make a statement regarding my marriage,” it appears that media reports are accurate and Mariah Carey did request that he sign a confidentiality agreement about…
State Bar of California Honors Members for Pro Bono Work
The State Bar of California recently recognized two BASF members with its President’s Pro Bono Service Awards, Ciarán O’Sullivan, The Law Office of Ciarán O’Sullivan and Charles Crompton, the Glide Economic Development Corporation; and one member with its Jack Berman…
Is Litigation More of a Science Than an Art?
BASF’s Litigation Section will be hosting its annual Bench Bar Conference on October 16 to bring together judges, academics, and attorneys to discuss research on the science of decision making and persuasion. The event, entitled “Is Litigation More of a…
Legal Writing Tip: Write Your Briefs with a Sense of Style and Drama
We continue this month with more from Melvin Mencher’s News Reporting and Writing, my journalism textbook that, in my opinion, should be required reading for lawyers too. In Chapter 7, the “Writer’s Art” (in my copy, the 7th edition), Mencher…
Ten Things You Don’t Know About Barristers’ Treasurer Manny Alvarez
Manny Alvarez is the general counsel and chief compliance officer of Affirm, Inc., a San Francisco-based startup offering innovative point-of-sale consumer credit alternatives. Learn more about Alvarez, who also serves as treasurer of the Barristers Board of Directors: Lawyer jokes…