BASF and COVID

I have always been proud of the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Justice and Diversity Center, but never more so than now. As our legal community confronts the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, BASF and JDC soldier on — continuing to provide valuable services to our members and invaluable representation to those in need of JDC’s pro bono legal services. As president of BASF and JDC, I am grateful to report that your bar association has adapted to this new environment and has grown stronger, not weaker, in the face of these challenges.

This crisis has forced all of us to examine not only how we can best serve our clients and communities, but also how we live, work, and connect with each other. BASF and JDC have worked tirelessly to adjust its processes to this rapidly changing work environments, and now all staff have shifted to a remote working environment. Working remotely, our dedicated staff continues to provide the important services they have always provided, tailored to meet the pressing needs of these times.

Perhaps most critically, just as our members are doing, JDC staff and volunteer attorneys continue to represent clients. Even as they work remotely, staff and volunteers are representing people facing eviction and homelessness, advocating for immigrants in detention, and protecting domestic violence survivors — all by conducting legal clinics and consultations by phone. JDC is indeed serving critical needs. To relay just one recent example from hundreds, last week one of our JDC staff attorneys received an early morning request to represent a detained immigrant at a bond hearing that same morning. The client had significant disabilities and was worried about contracting COVID-19 in detention. In just a few hours, our staff attorney spoke to the client by video, ran to court, and negotiated a bond that the court approved. After a successful fundraising campaign, the bond was paid, and the client was released and back home with his family.

BASF has similarly shifted to providing services to its members that are specific to the health crisis. BASF provides daily COVID-19 court updates with operational summaries and other information. BASF is in constant contact with local courts to promote operational clarity on behalf of its members. On April 21, BASF has arranged for court leaders to speak directly to lawyers to answer questions about court operations.

BASF is providing its members with other information on its website about practicing law remotely, and BASF’s Continuing Legal Education programs have moved online. When the shelter-in-place order issued, BASF immediately pivoted to providing topical CLEs focused on practical and substantive issues arising out of the crisis. For example, our programs have included a remote deposition bootcamp, practical advice for working remotely, advising clients during the pandemic, operating law firms remotely, and disaster and succession planning for law firms. Looking ahead, BASF is offering programs with practical advice for online video meetings, real estate issues during COVID-19, and rules affecting landlords and tenants specific to COVID-19, among other CLEs.

Our Wellness 2020 initiative has also moved online, with programs on maintaining physical and mental health during COVID-19 and advice on nutrition and fitness while working at home. And we are planning for the end of shelter-in-place when we can return to what Wellness 2020 was originally about — getting out of the office and connecting with others in the profession and with all San Francisco has to offer. Our Weekly Wellness Walks will return, and we are already planning several outings around the city.

All of BASF’s critical programs are still operating. For example, the SF-Marin Lawyer Information Referral Service remains up and running, and BASF continues to publish the monthly newspaper, the BASF Bulletin, and San Francisco Attorney magazine. BASF is also providing other ways for its members to connect, including hosting virtual Happy Hours for lawyers.

BASF and JDC have ramped up efforts to offer expertise and guidance to local and state officials on important topics. In just the last month, we have asked for urgent action to protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault during the shelter-in-place emergency, advocated for a moratorium on evictions, and written to Gov. Gavin Newsom, urging him to consider the recommendations of health experts to release elderly and medically vulnerable people from prisons. And, concerned about the future of law school graduates, we weighed in on the impact of COVID-19 on the July 2020 Bar Examination. In addition, the legal ethics experts on BASF’s Ethics Committee issued a statement on Professional Conduct In Times of Crisis, and BASF’s Estate Planning, Probate and Trusts Section sent a letter to Newsom regarding notarization practices during the public health emergency.

Looking ahead, BASF and JDC are preparing to jointly launch a program to help first responders protect themselves and their families. Leveraging the expertise of our members’ best trust and estates lawyers and the generosity of attorney volunteers, we will provide free legal services to first responders and hospital workers who need it. Working on the frontlines, they deserve the peace of mind a will or estate plan can offer.

BASF is also gearing up to support the Food Bank with the annual Food from the Bar campaign. The Food Bank is facing an unprecedented challenge to support the growing number of people in need during this time of crisis. Over the years, Food from the Bar has provided enough food for 20,480,727 meals. This year, we will need your support more than ever to meet the demand.

And speaking of support, there is no better time to thank you, our members, for your continued support during this crisis. BASF and JDC cannot provide the many services and pro bono representations that they do without the support of our members.

We all have much to be proud of in our response to COVID-19. As members of the San Francisco legal community and as San Franciscans, you have been leaders nationally, as you so often are in times of crisis. You have shown resolve, foresight, creativity and empathy. You are establishing a foundation that will make our profession stronger and more resilient going forward.

I’ll posit that from our respective places of isolation, we in fact feel more connected than ever before, more of a community than before, because the unprecedented things we are doing, we are doing together. 

Stuart Plunkett is president of the Bar Association of San Francisco and partner at Alston & Bird LLP.