BRAD KAUFMAN
STETSON LAW CLASS OF 1986
My career has been a long and wondrous journey filled with
many highs and lows and despite the hard work, I wouldn’t
change anything. You don’t know where it is going to end,
so just do the best you can day to day. Don’t spend time
worrying about getting to the top, just strive to do the best
you possibly can for your clients.”
— Brad Kaufman
Brad Kaufman, J.D. '86, a first-generation college graduate,
never imagined when he sat in his first class at Stetson Law that
one day he would end up becoming one of the most respected
lawyers in the nation. His only dream at the time – was to become a
lawyer like his TV idol Perry Mason. But fast forward 33 years, and
one can now find Kaufman traveling from state to state and country
to country, proudly serving both his clients and the firm in his role as
Co-President for Greenberg Traurig, one of the world’s largest law firms.
“I grew up in Florida and always knew I wanted to go to law school.
I just really didn’t know much about law firms, how they worked, or
how the industry worked. All I thought I wanted to do was become
a prosecutor then a defense lawyer,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman met his wife, Jill, three days before his first class at Stetson.
The two met at the school’s bookstore and started dating in their third
year. The two now have been married for 31 years and have three
extremely bright and driven children, two heading for careers in law.
Kaufman realized early on his talent for advocacy and grit for big
law life. He finished his first year at the top of his class and with
a clerkship at a coveted law firm. Kaufman went on from there,
navigating the legal market, graduating with a job offer at Gunster
in West Palm Beach.
In 1989, Kaufman was recruited by Steel Hector & Davis – then
one of Florida’s oldest, most prestigious firms. A law firm that
was known to not hire Stetson grads. But to Kaufman it was his
opportunity to prove that he belonged in the big leagues. In 1992,
Kaufman made partner at Steel Hector.
Seven years later, Kaufman was recruited by Greenberg Traurig.
Greenberg Traurig was becoming a nationally prominent firm,
and Kaufman made the decision to move to the larger platform.
He brought his entire team of secretaries, paralegals, associates and
partners with him when he made the move. That team, almost
twenty years later, is largely still with him. It is the team that
Kaufman credits for his success.
“Be honest about your own weaknesses, and hire people who make
you better. Treat them with respect and loyalty. That is how you can
become the best lawyer for your clients,” he said.
At Greenberg Traurig, Kaufman also serves as the Global Hiring
Partner and Chairman of Professional Development and Integration.
Kaufman has also served the Bar. In the past, he has acted as a
Chairman of a special appointed grievance committee investigating
famed attorney F. Lee Bailey’s alleged bar violations. That
investigation ultimately led to Bailey’s resignation from the Bar.
Kaufman served as vice-chair of the Vision 2016 Commission, a
three-year project aimed at making recommendations to reform
legal education. Kaufman has also served on many boards in both
the United States and Europe.
Outside of his leadership positions, Kaufman is still highly involved
in his day-to-day legal practice. His list of career highlights includes
trying cases and arbitrations throughout the country and arguing
appeals in many of the Federal Circuit courts. Many of his cases
involved hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars.
But the one that meant the most to him involves his mother and
stepfather, who were able to stand on the steps of the United States
Supreme Court with him just after he and his co-counsel, a national
figure, Ken Starr, appeared at oral argument.
Kaufman is currently working on a very high-profile criminal case in
London involving a famous British financier (a case closely watched
by the media). The work is hard, Kaufman notes, but rewarding.
“My career has been a long and wondrous journey filled with many
highs and lows, and despite the hard work, I wouldn’t change
anything. You don’t know where it is going to end, so just do the
best you can day to day. Don’t spend time worrying about getting to
the top, just strive to do the best you possibly can for your clients.”
Although Kaufman may not have envisioned himself ending up
here, it is evident from his continued dedication to the betterment
of his firm, the legal community and most importantly his clients,
that he was always destined to be a lawyer. A lawyer that even Perry
Mason would be proud of.
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ALUMNI P ROFILE
B Y K ATHRYN B O N T I