Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck celebrates its 30th anniversary in business

Arthur Kaufman, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck

Woodbury, NY Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP (KDV) is celebrating its 30^th anniversary. During that time, it has grown from a four-person labor and employment firm to a nationwide law firm with marquee private and insurance clients in the U.S., Bermuda and U.K.   

“In 1986, I left a large law firm in Manhattan to join three colleagues and start a boutique firm in Melville, Long Island focused on labor and employment management,” said Arthur Kaufman, a founder of the firm. “I did it to improve the quality of life for my family and to create something I could be proud of. I am heartened today to see that our vision and hard work has paid off, both for our clients and for the lawyers who call KDV home.”

Thirty years later, the firm, now headquartered Long Island, has grown from four attorneys to more than 100. KDV has attracted and hired more partners this year than any previous year. There are now eight other offices nationwide, two each in California (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and Florida (Boca Raton and Ft. Lauderdale) and one in New York City, Chicago, Hackensack, New Jersey and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

In the New York tri-state area alone, there are more than 50 attorneys in addition to more than 30 staff in the human resources, marketing, financial and IT departments. The firm is now widely known nationwide for not only labor and employment and insurance coverage practices, but also professional liability, construction, financial services, maritime, general liability, cyber security and shared economy matters. The first two clients brought on by Kaufman – Constellation Brands and We Transport – are still with the firm.   

Michael  Kaufman, co-managing partner of the firm and Arthur’s son, joined in 1992 and expanded the labor and employment practice. Michael met Philip R. Voluck in 2000 and he opened the Pennsylvania office near Philadelphia and is now managing partner of that office and co-chair of the labor and employment law practice group. Together, and with Arthur’s backing, they built a well-known employment insurance practice. Ivan J. Dolowich, co-managing partner of the firm with Michael, joined the firm in 2006, significantly broadening the firm’s nascent EPLI practice into a wide range of insurance practice disciplines.   

“As we opened new offices and grew and expanded practices, we made a firm commitment to maintaining the best qualities of a small firm – the well being of our clients and the personal growth of our staff,” said Michael Kaufman. “Our goal is to keep growing our offices and look for opportunities both in different jurisdictions and practice areas with the best interests of our clients in mind. We believe we will surpass 150 attorneys in the next several years, focusing on strengthening our core practice areas while developing new ones to meet our clients’ needs.”

“I came to KDV from a large insurance company and saw great opportunity to mesh insurance coverage and defense with the firm’s established labor and employment work,” said Dolowich. “In 10 years we have garnered a strong reputation as a firm that not only succeeds at traditional insurance work, including directors and officers and professional liability, errors & omissions and insurance coverage and bad faith defense, but also emerging practice areas including cyber and shared economy.”

“The opening of the Pennsylvania office was an important milestone for KDV, as the firm went from being a local, New York firm to an East Coast firm,” said Voluck. “From there we kept going, expanding our presence on the East Coast to include New Jersey and Florida, to California and the Midwest, and becoming a national resource for our clients.”