Practitioners should be aware of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) recent pronouncement that lawyers may have a “duty to inquire” in certain circumstances to avoid “advising or assisting a client in conduct the lawyer ‘knows’ is criminal or fraudulent.” Plaintiffs…
Legal Ethics and COVID-19
As we navigate the challenges of representing clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to remain mindful of our obligations under the California Rules of Professional Conduct (CRPC). A recent Legal Ethics Corner (To Be Diligent, BASF Bulletin, May 2020)…
“Don’t Just Do Something—Sit There!”
Just as case law decided decades earlier still guides the outcome of cases today, our long history as peripatetic hunters and gatherers shapes our experiences today. The sympathetic nervous system, designed to trigger the “fight or flight” actions to help…
COVID-19 Frontline Workers Project Expands to Help More Essential Workers
The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) and the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC), leading a group of Bay Area lawyers and organizations that provide free life planning assistance to qualified individuals, are excited to announce the expansion of the…
Why Music Matters In Our Professional Space During COVID-19
As we enter the twelfth week of the shelter-in-place order, we are all looking for peace in chaos, camaraderie in isolation, and productivity in malaise. From unconventional work-from-home practices to the ever-increasing screen time, lack-of-childcare complications to communal workspaces, stress…
Avoiding Unintentional Relationships When Representing Corporate Entities
An attorney who represents companies, particularly small companies, must take care not to unintentionally create an attorney-client relationship with individual shareholders or partners. The consequences of creating a relationship can be serious if the attorney unknowingly assumes a competing fiduciary…
June 2020 Members in the News
BASF Members Recognized by Chambers USA Congratulations to all BASF members who were ranked as top lawyers in Chambers USA 2020, including the following members who were recognized as leaders in their field:Anthony J. Barron and Jeffrey M. Tanenbaum, both…
Boilerplate Provisions in Family Law
In order to craft strong, enforceable family law agreements, attorneys must consider incorporating certain provisions. This article sets forth a small selection of important provisions to consider. Governing Law If the agreement is drafted in California, include a provision that…
US Sanctions and New Anti-Money Laundering Legislation: What It Means for the Art Market
On February 26, BASF’s Art Law section, along with the Criminal Justice section, hosted its first panel. The evening was sponsored by Ropes & Gray. Attendees engaged with a panel of skilled attorneys on U.S. sanctions and new anti-money laundering…
Video Conferencing: Five Tips to Help You Show Your Best Side
Video conferencing platforms have been active for a few years, but legal staff rarely needed to attend one nor know how to use them. Mid-March 2020, however, with the spread of COVID-19, work life as we knew it had changed.…
Life Planning for Life Savers: BASF and JDC Lead Pro Bono Initiative for COVID-19 Frontline Medical Workers
While much of the world shelters in place, our medical frontline workers—the nurses, EMTs, and custodial staff maintaining our hospitals—are putting their lives in danger every day as they go about taking care of our communities and saving lives. To…
Grandson Had a Right to Notice That He Got the Heave-Ho
McKie Roth died in 1988 with a will that established a trust for his wife, Yvonne. Upon her death, the trustee was to distribute twenty-five percent of the trust assets to her son from a prior marriage and twenty-five percent…