Jeffrey Kaufman, Esq.

Of Counsel

Jeffrey Kaufman is Of Counsel for Brydon Hugo & Parker. He has practiced law for over 35 years, with special expertise and extensive experience in insurance coverage advice and litigation, complex commercial litigation, bad faith litigation, and environmental litigation. Jeff has the AV rating by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating for ethics and legal ability based on reviews of his peers. After being nominated by his peers, he was selected as a 2007 Northern California Super Lawyer, representing the top 5% of the attorneys in the area.

Jeff has represented and advised insurers and insureds in hundreds of coverage disputes involving general liability, personal injury liability, advertising injury liability, property, agent errors and omissions, attorney errors and omissions, psychologist errors and omissions, other professional liability, umbrella and excess coverage, employment practices liability, auto, uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage, homeowners, OL&T, builders risk, premises liability, products liability, operations liability, pollution, asbestos, environmental, intellectual property, reinsurance, workers’ compensation and employers’ liability, surety, and fidelity.

Jeff has a winning track record for his clients based on thorough preparation, well crafted arguments and carefully devised strategies. Within the last year he obtained a well publicized judgment from the Federal District Court in Philadelphia which saved his client an estimated $100 million, in addition to pretrial rulings which protected another $150 million. This year he also obtained summary judgments in a case involving coverage for clergy abuse claims in which the demand was in the tens of millions, a federal district court case involving advertising injury coverage, a case involving attorney errors and omissions coverage, and a case involving insurance agent errors and omissions coverage. In the recent past he has also obtained summary judgments in cases involving construction defect litigation, environmental contamination, and insurer bad faith. Other recent trial victories include litigation over commercial contract disputes in which he obtained awards totaling millions of dollars for his clients.

During the course of his practice, Jeff has handled litigation not only in California, but also in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Guam. Among other areas of practice and experience, he has handled real estate transactional and litigation matters, intellectual property litigation, land fraud litigation, personal injury litigation, contract drafting and disputes, maritime and admiralty cases, and labor law issues.

Jeff is also highly regarded for his negotiating and agreement drafting skills. He has handled scores of mediations and arbitrations as an advocate, and also serves as a mediator and settlement judge. Respected mediators endorse him as “creative,” “productive,” “effective in driving large, ego-filled groups towards consensus,” with “a keen sense of settlement dynamics,” and “difficult to imagine a more qualified person.”

Jeff has spoken at and contributed papers to several local and national conferences on insurance matters, and has conducted in-house trainings for clients. He has served as editor of the K&L California Insurance Law Update and author of the Editor’s Corner.

• University of Wisconsin Law School, J.D., 1970 (graduated with Honorable Mention; Member of Wisconsin Law Review)
• University of Michigan, B.A., 1967

• State Bar of California (1971)
• State Bar of Wisconsin (1970)
• United States Supreme Court (1979)
• United States Court of Appeal for Ninth Circuit (1974)
• United States Court of Appeal for Third Circuit (2006)
• Unites States District Courts (various)

• American Bar Association
• San Francisco Bar Association

• California Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three, Appeal Clerk (1970)
• California Court of Appeal, First District, Division Three, Writ Clerk (1971)