Alan Jay Kaufman

Alan Jay Kaufman is a partner and founder of Kaufman, Payton & Chapa in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Kaufman represents national, international, and regional companies in corporate, insurance, litigation, and business-planning matters. His practice covers complex disputes and business concerns that can require litigation strategy, insurance analysis, transactional judgment, and practical planning. He also serves as an arbitrator and mediator, bringing dispute-resolution experience to matters that may be resolved inside or outside the courtroom.

Kaufman earned a B.A. from Michigan State University in Finance and Insurance Law and a J.D. from Notre Dame Law School. He continued legal studies in England, concentrating on insurance, corporate, and comparative international law at Oxford and the University of London, London School of Economics. His education provides a strong foundation for a practice involving business risk, insurance issues, corporate concerns, and litigation involving companies operating in varied commercial settings.

Kaufman has represented companies across a broad range of business and insurance disputes and has maintained a long-standing role in professional organizations connected to tort and insurance law. His work has included leadership in American Bar Association committees addressing professional liability, excess and surplus lines, reinsurance, self-insurance, and risk management. He has also served as a mediator for Michigan circuit courts and an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, adding structured dispute-resolution experience to his litigation practice.

Alan Jay Kaufman is an active author, speaker, and professional leader whose work spans litigation, insurance, corporate law, and business planning. Kaufman has held leadership responsibilities in bar associations and professional committees and has written on insurance coverage, liability, and related legal issues. His combination of courtroom, arbitration, mediation, and business-law experience supports companies facing disputes that require careful legal analysis, practical risk assessment, and a clear strategy for resolving complex commercial problems.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Kaufman, Payton & Chapa
• Member, State Bar of Michigan
• Member, Co-Chair, Other Professional Liability Sub-Committee, American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Law Section
• Former Chairperson, Detroit Bar Association International Law Section (1985-1996)
• Member, American Bar Association (1973 – Present)
• Member, Oakland County Bar Association (1976 – Present)
• Member, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel (1986 – Present)
• Board Member, Michigan State University Foundation
• Board Member, Michigan Chamber of Commerce
• Board Member, Founders Junior Council of the Detroit Institute of Arts
• Board Member, Detroit Area Boy Scouts of America
• Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association
• Mediator, Michigan Circuit Courts
• Member, Detroit Council, Boy Scouts of America (1987 – Present)
• Member, Detroit Institute of Arts (1985 – Present)

Licensed State

• Michigan

Education

• University of Notre Dame Law School
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Michigan State University
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Finance and Insurance Law

Awards & Badges