Jeffrey Kaufman joined Newport Beach-based law firm Newmeyer & Dillion LLP as partner in charge of its bankruptcy practice.
Kaufman, who left a family law practice in Santa Ana, is bringing clients with him and is looking to build up the firm’s bankruptcy practice.
He’ll be working with clients in small-business bankruptcies as well as with creditors in ongoing cases. Kaufman said he’ll also work on business, employment and real estate litigation.
Newmeyer & Dillion, like other firms, is looking to grab more bankruptcy work with an upsurge in business during the downturn of the past year or so.
The firm’s primary practice is real estate and land-use law. It also does litigation, transactions, employment law and intellectual property.
Newmeyer has 43 local lawyers, down 10% from a year earlier, according to the Business Journal’s January list of the largest law firms here. It has 52 lawyers overall including at an office in Northern California.
For the past 16 years, Kaufman was partner at Kaufman & Kaufman, a family firm where he worked with his father and brother.
He called his departure amicable and said he left to expand his bankruptcy practice.
“I am excited to integrate my practice into a larger firm,” he said.
Kaufman is a member of the Orange County Bar Association and the Orange County Bankruptcy Foundation.
A native of Los Angeles, Kaufman received his bachelor’s in history from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1988. He earned his law degree from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles in 1991.
Kaufman lives in Irvine with his wife and three children.
He’s on the board of the Merage Jewish Community Center of Orange County and the Vista Verde Foundation, which raises money for Irvine’s Vista Verde school.
Kaufman said he enjoys spending time with his family and being involved in his children’s activities and sports.
—Carina Calhoun
ACCOUNTING
JCC Group Inc. in Irvine named Cris de la Cruz chief operating officer. De la Cruz is returning to the company, where he was a staff accountant. He previously worked at the Irvine office of New York-based Ernst & Young LLP as a tax attorney.
ARCHITECTURE
Sacramento-based Lionakis Beaumont Design Group Inc. promoted Tobias Insinna to associate of the education market sector in its Newport Beach office. Ben Tu was promoted to associate of the healthcare market sector.
Marc Cohen joined MVE Institutional Inc. in Irvine as director of sustainability. Cohen will be involved in education and civic projects, as well as with retail, commercial and housing work. He previously was managing director for Irvine-based Constructive Technologies Group Inc. and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.
EMPLOYMENT
Irvine-based Global Human Resources Outsourcing hired Brandon Carl as business development manager. Carl has five years of experience in employment services. He also is on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and is involved in various other groups.
FINANCE
John Barton was named senior vice president of lending at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union in Santa Ana. Barton previously was an executive vice president at Wells Fargo & Co. and has 30 years of finance experience.
GOVERNMENT
The Orange County Transportation Authority in Orange elected Jerry Amante as chairman. Amante is a lawyer, licensed real estate broker and is mayor of Tustin. He has been a member of the board for four years. Don Hansen also was added to the board. He is a Huntington Beach councilman.
Anaheim-based Orange County Housing Trust added Will Kempton and Cindy Quon to its board of governors. Kempton is chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority and Quon is district director of the California Department of Transportation. They join 22 other OC representatives serving on the board. Housing Trust provides funding for housing in OC and Southern California.
LAW
William Ihrke was promoted to partner at Costa Mesa-based Rutan & Tucker LLP. Irhke practices land use, redevelopment and general municipal law. He is a member of the firm’s public law section and also is on the board of the Legal Aid Society of Orange County.
Walnut Creek-based Archer Norris PLC hired Carol Gefis as an attorney in its New-port Beach office. Gefis has more than 20 years of experience in business and employment litigation. She is a member of the California Bar Association’s em-ployment section.
MEDIA
Churm Media in New-port Beach promoted Kimberly Porrazzo to president and chief content officer of the Churm Media Digital unit and Tina Borgatta to editor-in-chief of OC Metro and OC Menus. The company also promoted Susan Bel-knapp to managing editor, Kristen Schott to Web editor and Larry Urish to associate editor. Churm Media publishes magazines in Southern California.
NONPROFIT
Sarah Haney joined Orange County United Way in Irvine as director of investor relations. United Way provides food, shelter and medical care for those in need. Haney previously worked as community development manager at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Greater Los Angeles and Orange County.
Toastmasters Interna-tional in Rancho Santa Margarita hired John Bond as controller. Bond previously worked as the chief financial officer of luxury travel agency Travcoa Corp. in Newport Beach. Toastmasters International helps people with public speaking.
REAL ESTATE
Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Co. hired Caroline Kase as senior portfolio manager in its Newport Beach office. Kase will oversee real estate management operations throughout Southern California. Previously, she was vice president of Landmark Asset Man-agement Group in Newport Beach and has more than 20 years of property management experience.
Steve Center joined Irvine-based Bixby Land Co. as vice president of leasing and marketing. Previously, Center was senior vice president of office leasing for Walnut-based J.F. Shea Co.’s Shea Properties in Aliso Viejo.
Keystone Pacific Pro-perty Management Inc. promoted Jen-nifer Kammes to group coordinator in its Irvine office. Kammes is an association manager who is certified through the California Association of Community Managers.
Wendy Bucknum of Lake Forest-based Professional Community Management Inc. was selected by the Orange County chapter of the Community Associations Institute to serve as president-elect. She also serves as chair of the group’s legislative support committee.
