Nina L. Kaufman

As a child, Nina L. Kaufman was profoundly inspired by the character Atticus Finch in the film "To Kill a Mockingbird"–a small town lawyer whose wisdom, honesty and genuine compassion for his clients made him a compelling role model to follow.

Years later, when Nina began her practice in 1996, she envisioned a law firm that would become the same wise and trusted counselor for New York City's small business community as Atticus Finch was for his fictional small town.

Education
J.D., Boston University School of Law
M.A., London School of Economics and Political Science (U.K.)
B.A, Wellesley College (cum laude)
Bar Admissions
New York
New Jersey
District of Columbia
Bar Associations
Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Served on the Corporate Law Committee and the Sex and Law Committee
Awards/Recognition
Working Woman’s Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards (2001)

Nina based her business model on those same "Finch-like" qualities that inspired her to become a lawyer in the first place–a sense of fairness, an empathetic listener, and a profound legal insight, mixed with her own brand of humor and the ability to explain complex legal issues to clients in a way that even Boo Radley would understand.  In short, her mission is to demystify legal mumbo-jumbo for entrepreneurs and business owners.

A prolific writer, Nina is the founder and president of The Legal Edge LLC, which offers information products and resources on legal issues for small businesses. She is a regular columnist for Entrepreneur where she authors the Business Law Advisor column and Making It Legal blog. She serves at the Intellectual Property Law Expert for Forbes.com's Small Business Exchange.  She also publishes the Business Partnership Central blog, focusing on business partnerships and collaborative partnering/alliance relationships. In addition, she has written numerous articles on a wide range of legal topics that have appeared in publications including the E-Myth Insider, Enterprising Woman, the New York Enterprise Report, WomenandBiz.com, and MyVenturePad.com.

With skills honed from the stand-up comedy stage, she is a highly sought-after professional speaker and has given seminars, workshops and presentations on small business legal issues for numerous organizations in the New York area. Nina has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, SmallBusinessComputing.com, The New York Law Journal, the American Bar Association Journal, and Entrepreneur magazine and has appeared on Fox Channel 5's Good Day NY program.

Nina was an active member of the National Association of Women Business Owners-New York City Chapter (NAWBO-NYC) for many years, having served on its Board as First Vice President, as Vice President Public Policy, and as the chapter's National Public Policy Council Representative. She is a member of the SEC Roughriders chapter of Toastmasters International, and Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in New York City, where she has volunteered at their homeless shelter for over fifteen years.

Her other interests include international travel, golf, and photography.

She has kept a copy of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, "Success," with her since she was first admitted to the NY Bar:

SUCCESS
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty,
To find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.