Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP

Some great insights on AI and the law from Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP attorney Prianka M. who recently attended the University of California, Berkeley - School of Law's AI Institute.

BBS founder Heidi Brooks Bradley featured in a new book highlighting how she forged her own path embracing growth and resilience in building a successful legal career.

Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP (Colin Hunter and Gina Elliott) is proud to partner with the ACLU of Oregon (Kelly Simon) and Alicia LeDuc Montgomery on this case seeking to put an end to the Medford Police Department's unlawful surveillance of activists. BBS is a long-term supporter and partner of ACLU of Oregon. Special thank you to Raja Moreno, our research assistant this summer for all of his help in preparing this case. https://lnkd.in/g5mNpSQf

Erin Bernstein talking to WIRED about how companies can use affirmative litigation to strategically advance their business goals. Good stuff!

Confession time: I was pretty bad at working with local counsel. Then I moved back home to Seattle from LA and found myself more often on the "local" side of the local counsel relationship. Come to find out, there are ways for local counsel to contribute meaningfully to success in a case.   I got to thinking about the cases where I've seen the most successful national/local counsel relationships, and they have a number of things in common. Today on our website we posted an article about best practices for national and local counsel working together. Here are the high points: 💡 Think of local counsel as an extension of your case team: In the best local counsel relationships I've seen, national and local counsel function more like co-counsel. In many cases, hourly rates for even top-notch local counsel can be meaningfully lower than rates for national counsel. Imagine being able to pitch to a client that, rather than local counsel just being an added expense and another law firm to pay, they can actually improve efficiency and contribute to a successful outcome. 🤝 Pick the right local counsel: You'll want someone familiar with the court where your case is pending, and ideally with your assigned judge. You'll also want someone with experience in your area of law. LinkedIn is a terrific tool for figuring out who in your network practices in a given jurisdiction. You can also use some of the more reputable attorney rankings (Chambers, etc.) to find well-respected lawyers in a given jurisdiction with the practice-area experience you're looking for. 🗣 Keep the conversation going: Always ask local counsel for background on the forum and the judge. But also, talk to them as you're framing up early briefing, navigating discovery disputes, or thinking about your jury pool. 📖 Send them your briefs before it's time for filing: Substantively, local counsel can provide feedback on arguments in the brief in light of their experience in the forum and with your assigned judge. Practically, if local counsel is doing the filing, knowing the scale of the filing in advance makes for a happier filing day for everyone. ☎ Include them in (some) team updates: The more information local counsel has on your case, the more valuable insights they can provide. So include them on your email distribution list for the case and invite them to team meetings where you can so they stay up to speed. As local counsel, I never charge clients for time I spend simply monitoring email traffic regarding a case, but it's always helpful to be in the loop so I can offer advice as I see issues where a local perspective could be useful.    Whether you're on the local or national counsel side of things, what are your best practices for making the most of your local counsel situations?

Very proud to announce that Heidi Brooks Bradley has again been recognized by Chambers as one of only five "Band 1" antitrust attorneys in Seattle. Heidi's two-decade career has been spent working on some of the highest profile antitrust cases in the country. https://lnkd.in/g6t9qs-u

Meet our 2024 Business Behind the Scenes ("BBS") Fellows! (Ian Hayes, Johnsenia Brooks, Saman Haddad, and Sukhraj Singh). The BBS Fellowship is designed to equip first generation law students with the information, tools, and access to networks that will help them to build successful and sustainable careers in the law. This is the firm's 4th year of the fellowship. We’ve been so lucky to have had three years of incredibly talented first-gen law student fellows (who also happen to be wonderful people)—and this fourth year was no exception! Each BBS Fellow receives training by legal professionals from a wide variety of legal backgrounds and organizations, via remote and in-person sessions during the Spring 2024 semester. This is entirely a training and mentorship opportunity for our fellows. BBS fellows are not asked to perform any work for BBS or its clients. Fellows receive training in subjects including: ● tools for succeeding in legal practice, in law firms and beyond; ● law firm economics at both the associate and partner level; ● strategic & logistical considerations in starting a firm; ● nonprofit economics & startup costs; and ● alternative career paths. Fellows also benefit from training, mentorship, and advice from BBS Fellowship alumni of our past three years of programming. Finally, Fellows benefit from the guidance and counseling of Jill Long and Teresa Jacobs at Glassman Coaching and Consulting who help fellows think about and strategize their careers in sustainable and fulfilling ways. BBS is thrilled to be living up to its commitment to building a robust network of current and former fellows to act as a peer network for career development, mentorship of first-generation professionals, additional training opportunities, and advocacy for diversity within the broader legal market. https://lnkd.in/gN9ZaXR6

We are excited to announce that Taylor Jaszewski as the newest attorney in our growing California Office! Taylor joins us from Dechert LLP in San Francisco, where he represented clients in a range of complex civil litigation matters. In addition to his civil litigation experience, Taylor contributed to high-profile internal investigations for entities ranging from emerging companies in Silicon Valley to major public corporations. He also defended individuals in white-collar criminal defense matters. Taylor maintains a strong pro bono practice with a focus on criminal justice reform. Beyond his substantive experience, Taylor is known for building a strong relationship with his clients and distilling complicated legal issues into clear, actionable advice. BBS now has eight attorneys in three states, seven of whom are members of the California bar. We are so excited to introduce Taylor to our clients! https://lnkd.in/g96s3meh

Bradley Bernstein Sands LLP is committed to teaching!    This spring, Erin Bernstein continued her longstanding relationship with Yale Law School, teaching and mentoring as part of the San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project Seminar.  Erin's seminar centered around litigation as storytelling, crafting a compelling narrative complaint, and coordinating policy, communications, and media strategies as a litigant.    This fall, Erin will continue teaching the State and Local Impact Litigation Practicum at Berkeley Law, which immerses students in the theory and practice of bringing affirmative litigation on behalf of governments and their residents.   In the firm's Portland office, Colin Hunter just completed teaching in the first semester of Pretrial Advocacy at Lewis & Clark Law School. Offered as part of the Law School's newly founded Advocacy Center, this intensive civil litigation course sees students litigate a simulated case from client intake through case assessment, pleading, discovery and summary judgment. https://lnkd.in/gY8Ed2xa

Erin Bernstein hit a hole in one on this one.