Stephen J. Kaufman is the founder of Kaufman Legal Group. Mr. Kaufman started the firm’s political practice in 1996, after serving as partner in the Los Angeles office of Long & Levit. Mr. Kaufman represents elected officials, candidates, unions, trade associations, corporations, non-profits, 527 organizations, ballot measure committees, political parties, PACs, major donors, government agencies, municipalities and political consultants on a wide variety of campaign, government and election matters, including:

• compliance with campaign finance, election, governmental ethics and lobbying laws;
• filing of campaign disclosure reports;
• drafting and qualification of ballot measures;
• formation of political committees, non-profits and Section 527 organizations;
• election-related litigation, recounts and recall elections; and
• administrative enforcement proceedings, government audits and investigations.

Mr. Kaufman is an expert on election procedures and recounts. In 2001, he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Election Reform. Previously, he served as a recount attorney for the Gore-Lieberman campaign in Florida following the 2000 Presidential election.

Mr. Kaufman is former President of the California Political Attorneys Association and has served on many non-profit Boards, including most recently the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Education Fund, the Southern California Leadership Network and the Friends of Washington Prep Foundation. He served on the Secretary of State's Online Disclosure Task Force in 2005, and was appointed by Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to the State Voting Modernization Board, where he continues to serve as the Board’s Vice-Chair.

Mr. Kaufman obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UCLA in 1984, and received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco in 1987. Prior to becoming a member of the California State Bar, he served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Terry J. Hatter of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Mr. Kaufman is a frequent author and speaker on campaign reform and election issues, appearing regularly on local news programming and serving as a lecturer and panelist before numerous organizations. Mr. Kaufman was selected by California Law Business magazine in 2001 as one of California's top 20 attorneys under age 40, and is a past recipient of the California State Bar's Wiley W. Manuel Award for his commitment to pro bono legal services.