Kehoe, Mark A.

Shelley Kaufman is a Senior Attorney at Geragos & Geragos, APC, and specializes in civil litigation, including complex litigation, class actions, Civil Rights, products liability, catastrophic personal injuries, and wrongful death cases.

Ms. Kaufman has tried in excess of 60 civil jury trials in both State and Federal court, achieving numerous settlements and verdicts in excess of $1,000,000. Ms. Kaufman was a lead attorney in bringing about two historic class action settlements for $37.5 million against two prominent insurance companies on behalf of Armenian Genocide descendants. In addition to her State and Federal court experience, Ms. Kaufman has presented arguments before the California Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

Driven by her personal commitment to the protection of Civil Rights and equal access to the legal system, Ms. Kaufman introduces a unique perspective to the firm's work in protecting the fundamental civil liberties afforded by the United States Constitution. She has fought on behalf of Civil Rights litigants for nearly two decades on issues from wrongful detention to wrongful death. She recently obtained a verdict of $1.7 million in a Civil Rights wrongful arrest case against the Glendale Police Department. As attorney of record, Ms. Kaufman has two Federal Court-published opinions protecting victims' rights: Fontana v. Haskin, 262 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. 2001), in which the Court determined that a police officer who sexually harasses an arrestee violates her Constitutional rights; and Rodriguez v. City of Los Angeles, 768 F. Supp. 718 (C.D. Cal. 1991), in which the Court determined that attorneys who represent Civil Rights victims fight an uphill battle, and should therefore be paid in accordance with the effort required to produce justice for such victims. A staunch defender of free speech, Ms. Kaufman has repeatedly battled first amendment issues in Federal Court as well.

Ms. Kaufman's caseload has always been unique and colorful. She was part of the negotiating team to bring about a $5 million settlement in a catastrophic wrongful death case involving a mother killed by a runaway school bus. She represented two survivors of the December 25, 2007 San Francisco Zoo tiger attack, and successfully negotiated a settlement on their behalf.

In addition to managing a busy litigation schedule, Ms. Kaufman has conducted numerous seminars involving civil litigation from discovery through trial, and sexual harassment and other work related issues. Ms. Kaufman earned her Bachelor's Degree from Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and her Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law's two-year accelerated program. She is admitted to practice in the State of California and has appeared in Federal District Courts throughout the State of California, as well as in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. She has also appeared pro hac vice in Florida's Circuit Court.