U.S. Federal Judge Bruce W. Kauffman Joins Elliott Greenleaf
Philadelphia, July 14, 2009 – John M. Elliott, Chairman & CEO of Elliott Greenleaf, one of the region’s foremost commercial litigation firms representing clients including CBS, Aetna, the Jefferson Health System and Philadelphia Media Holdings (the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News), announced that Bruce W. Kauffman, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, will join the firm effective July 21, 2009, as co-chair of Elliott Greenleaf’s executive committee. Mr. Elliott also announced that the firm will now co-locate its headquarters at Two Liberty Place in Philadelphia and Blue Bell, Pa. with offices in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg and Wilmington, Delaware. While Judge Kauffman will be primarily located in the Philadelphia office, he will provide legal services to all of the firm’s offices.
“Judge Kauffman is one of the most respected jurists on the federal bench,” said Mr. Elliott. “As a judge and lawyer he is renowned for his ability to find creative and economic solutions to complex problems. His unique experience, as a U.S. District Court judge, as a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, and as a nationally preeminent trial lawyer, with more than 40 years of experience in successfully providing a variety of clients with effective and wise counsel and strategy in the courtroom and boardrooms, is unmatched,” said Mr. Elliott. “We are delighted that Elliott Greenleaf’s clients will now have the benefit of Judge Kauffman’s significant and successful experience and leadership.”
Judge Kauffman said “John Elliott and I have been friends and colleagues for many years. This will allow us to renew our teamwork in the courtroom and in corporate counseling.” Mr. Elliott stated that “Judge Kauffman’s experience in white collar corporate internal investigations and mediating complex financial and business disputes before they harden into litigation is increasingly important in today’s economic environment.”
Judge Kauffman said “I look forward to this new challenge and opportunities with John, Senator Stewart Greenleaf and my many friends at Elliott Greenleaf, with whom I previously worked on many interesting and significant matters before joining the federal bench.” “I have always enjoyed serving as an advocate for clients, and look forward to providing them with strategic advice, investigative experience, and hands-on problem-solving drawing on my more than 10 years on the federal judiciary, as a former member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and as a litigator.”
Judge Kauffman was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in January 1998 and retired on June 20, 2009. He previously served as chairman of Dilworth Paxson (formerly Dilworth Paxson Kalish & Kaufffman). In 1980, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Judge Kauffman previously represented some of the nation’s most high-profile clients, including Occidental Petroleum, Dr. Armand Hammer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Barnes Foundation, Donald Trump, Litton Industries and Frank Sinatra.
Throughout his diverse and distinguished career, Judge Kauffman’s public service has transcended partisan lines. Mr. Elliott added “Bruce Kauffman is nationally known as a bipartisan advocate for an independent and fairly compensated federal and state judiciary, and will now continue to vigorously advocate these important issues from the private sector.”
|