Robert D. (Bo) Links *

Robert D. “Bo” Links has conducted a general civil practice in San Francisco since 1974. His special areas of emphasis include labor and employment disputes, education law, construction matters, and general business counseling and private dispute resolution services. He has extensive experience as a trial and appellate advocate and, in addition, as a respected arbitrator-mediator. He has prosecuted jury cases to verdict and well over 100 arbitration claims to hearing and final adjudication.

In the area of Education Law, the firm is not currently undertaking new representation for students and parents. We continue to counsel schools and school employees and related unions.

Published cases

• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 US 265 (1978)
  (Legality of racial quota medical school admission policy)
• Grodensky v. Artichoke Joe’s, 91 Cal.Rptr.3d 732 (2009), review granted, then dismissed by California Supreme Court, 2010 WL 4457474 (2010)
  (Legality of mandatory tip pooling arrangement for dealers in licensed card room)
• Lapidus v. City of Wasco, 114 Cal.App.4th 1361 (2004)
  San Francisco Superior Court No. 993537 (AAA No. 74 Y 194 00430 97 (3 person panel) (Attorney's contingent fee contract may be enforced against municipality and is not barred by Debt Limitation Clause of California Constitution (Cal. Const., Art. XVI, Sec. 18 (a)))
• Artichoke Joe's v. Norton, 216 F.Supp.2d 1084 (E.D. Cal. 2002), aff'd 353 F.3d 712 (9th Cir. 2003)
  (Legality of California’s Proposition 1A [tribal monopoly over casino gaming] under IGRA, 25 USC §§ 2701, et seq., and Equal Protection Clause)
• Miller v. Maxwell's International, Inc., 991 F.2d 583 (9th Cir. 1993), cert. denied sub nom. Miller v. La Rosa, 510 U.S. 1109, 127 L.Ed.2d 372, 114 S.Ct. 1049 (1994)
  (Successful defense of Title VII claim; established principle of no individual liability under Title VII [only employer liability])
• Culley v. Superior Court, 10 Cal.App.4th 1494 (1992)
  (Indemnity case; successful jury verdict re: tender of defense; nonsuit in client's favor re: architect's negligence; issue on appellate writ proceeding was how to determine "good faith" of settlement under Civil Code Section 2778; case of first impression)
• Moyer v. Amador Joint Union High School District, 225 Cal.App.3d 720 (1990)
  (Successful First Amendment defense of student journalist under U.S. Supreme Court's Milkovich test)
• Cal Jones Properties v. Evans Pacific Corporation, 216 Cal.App.3d 324 (1989)
  (Validity of good faith settlement; authority of trial court to "look behind pleadings" to determine which cross claims may be dismissed)
• Terminal Plaza Corporation v. City & County of San Francisco, 177 Cal.App.3d 892 (1986)
  (Legality of City ordinance designed to preserve residential hotel accommodations; right to go out of business; environmental impact issues)
• Hartford Insurance Co. v. Karavan Enterprises, 659 F.Supp. 1077 (ND Cal 1986)
  (Insurance coverage for "wrongful termination" suit)
• Labelle v. San Francisco Unified School District, 140 Cal.App.3d 292 (1983)
  (Legality of City Charter requirement of renewable contracts for school administrators)
• Whisman v. San Francisco Unified School District, 86 Cal.App.3d 782 (1978)
  (Legality of City Charter provision granting tenure to school administrators)
• City & County of San Francisco v. Cooper, 13 Cal. 3d 898 (1974)
  (Legality of ordinance settling City strike)
• Ector v. City of Torrance, 10 Cal. 3d 129 (1973)
  (Legality of residency requirement for municipal employees)(amicus brief)
• Nash v. City of Santa Monica, 37 Cal.3d 97 (1985)
  (Existence of constitutional right to go out of business)(amicus brief)
• SF Police Officers Ass'n v. City & County of San Francisco, 812 F.2d 1125 (9th Cir. 1987)
  (Legality of City's revision of employment test scores to achieve racial results)(amicus brief)
• Miller v. Chico Unified School District, 24 Cal.3d 703 (1979)
  (Judicial construction of statute permitting school district employees to review and comment on derogatory information placed in their personnel files)(amicus brief)

Related Legal Work

Mr. Links is the co-editor of the Civil Rights Module of the California Civil Practice Series published by Thomson Reuters. From 2008 to 2018, Mr. Links served as the Legal Editor for California Lawyer magazine, where he edited the monthly continuing education feature (MCLE) as well as the "Expert Advice" and "Client Relations" columns.

Professional Background

Bo has practiced law in San Francisco for 35 years. He joined the firm of Jacobs, Blanckenburg, May & Colvin in 1974 and the firm became Colvin Martin & Links in 1979. In 1986, he joined the Law Offices of Harold S. Dobbs, which later became the firm of Dobbs, Berger, Molinari, Casalnuovo, Vannelli, Nadel & Links. From 1992 to 2008, he practiced with Berger, Nadel & Vannelli as Special Counsel and then joined Kauff, McClain & McGuire, a national labor and employment firm. In 2009, he joined his longtime friend and colleague Adam Slote to form Slote & Links.

Education & Related Honors

Bo is a native San Franciscan, having graduated from George Washington High School (1967), UC Berkeley (1971), and the UCLA School of Law (1974). While at Berkeley, he earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. During law school at UCLA, he participated in the Moot Court Honors Program and was selected for the Roscoe Pound Advocacy Team. He is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in California, as well as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Legal Publications

• "Civil Rights Litigation" (part of the California Civil Practice Series, published by Thomson Publishing - updated semi-annually - authored chapters on Equal Protection; Due Process; Disability Access; Privacy Rights; Freedom of Religion; Race & National Origin Discrimination; and General Overview)
• Education Law - National Business Institute Seminar Materials (1995)
• Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "Winning with Arbitrators" - Dec. 4, 2006 - Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "Arbitrators Want Fundamentals" - Dec. 5, 2006 - Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "Once More Into the Brief" - Jan. 29, 2007 - Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "ADR: Structure Before All" - March 8, 2007 - Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "ADR: Making It Work" - March 9, 2007 - Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "Neutral Evaluation" - April 11, 2007 - Daily Journal legal newspaper
• "The Anatomy of Risk" – Plaintiff magazine (March 2008)
• "Looking Back on Bakke" - California Lawyer magazine (June 2009)

Outside the Office

Bo is a widely acclaimed golf author and golf historian. His three books, "Follow the Wind", "Riverbank Tweed & Roadmap Jenkins: Tales from the Caddie Yard", and Golf Poems have engaged golfers around the world, and his essay, Return to Glory, chronicles the effort to save San Francisco’s Harding Park Golf Course and restore it as a championship venue. He also wrote "More Than A Game," also an extended essay, about the 2009 Presidents Cup matches at Harding Park and also about the establishment of a First Tee facility at a San Francisco Middle School. Mr. Links is also a four-time winner of the golf architecture contest sponsored by the Alister MacKenzie Society (it is an international competition intended to showcase promising architectural talent in the tradition of the original Lido Design Prize captured by Dr. Alister MacKenzie in 1914 – a feat which launched one of the legendary careers in the history of golf course architecture.) Mr. Links is the only four-time winner of the competition (2007, 2008, 2021 and 2022). Bo is co-founder of the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance (www.sfpublicgolf.com) and is one of the leaders in the movement to save Sharp Park, the Alister MacKenzie course in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. Known as "the Poor Man's Pebble Beach," the course has been threatened by environmental issues but remains one of MacKenzie's greatest creations: a former salt marsh that was transformed into a memorable (and beautiful) golf course that has been a hub of local activity for 90 years.

*In 2020, Bo reduced his schedule as a partner in the firm and now serves as Of Counsel.