Jerry J. Kaufman

Jerry Jack Kaufman was born September 3, 1935, in Cleveland and raised in Los Angeles. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Arizona, a Juris Doctorate from the California Western School of Law in San Diego, and a master's degree in business from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. He came to Las Vegas in 1965 to serve as a government lawyer at the Nevada Test Site, now known as the Nevada National Security Site.

Over a legal career spanning some 50 years, Kaufman built a distinguished practice in Nevada, California, and Utah, working as both an attorney and a judge. He was one of the five founding members of the Las Vegas law firm Jones, Jones, Close, Bilbray and Kaufman - established with figures including former Speaker of the Nevada State Assembly and State Senator Melvin D. Close and Congressman James H. Bilbray - a firm that later merged into the Jones-Vargas organization. Much of his practice was devoted to providing legal counsel to political and business leaders. He served in numerous judicial roles, including as an alternate municipal judge, a Nevada Supreme Court settlement judge, and a District Court Judge Pro Tempore.

A member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves, Kaufman took on pro bono cases for veterans when he could. He was also active in civic life, holding leadership positions with the Boy Scouts of America, the March of Dimes, the Easter Seal Society, and the American National Red Cross. Jerry J. Kaufman died August 2, 2015, in Las Vegas at the age of 79.