Pamela S. Kaufmann, Partner

Practice Areas/Industries
Senior Housing & Care ; Corporate Governance; Tax-Exempt Organizations

Firm Leadership
Management Committee

Based in our San Francisco Office
415-995-5043 Direct Phone
415-541-9366 Fax
pkaufmann@hansonbridgett.com
vCard | PDF bio

Pamela S. Kaufmann's practice is dedicated to the representation of senior housing and care providers and tax-exempt organizations. She advises assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, housing providers, hospices and other providers on development issues (corporate structuring, licensing, real estate, tax exemptions), operations (contracting, regulatory compliance, elder abuse, consent and capacity issues, OBRA, fraud and abuse, and nonprofit and tax- exempt compliance), risk management and insurance issues, affiliations, mergers and acquisitions. Her intimate knowledge of clients' operations and contracts, coupled with her extensive tax-exempt expertise, makes her a natural choice for borrower's counsel whenever clients incur tax-exempt debt.

Pamela remains on the cutting edge of legal reforms and developments in the senior housing and care industry. She serves on the Legal Committee of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) as the State delegate from Aging Services of California (ASC). She also serves on the ASC Legal Committee, and was appointed to both AAHSA's and ASC's liability task forces, which were formed to combat the effects of the liability crisis that afflicts senior care providers. She was on the committee that rewrote California's continuing care laws and on a State task force that addressed elder care issues, and she routinely advises ASC regarding a host of legal issues.

Pamela regularly speaks before industry organizations such as AAHSA, ASC, the California Assisted Living Association (CALA), and the California Association for Health Facilities (CAHF) on issues including elder abuse, the liability crisis, disability discrimination, fair housing, corporate compliance, tax-exempt matters, and corporate governance issues, including the effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on nonprofit organizations. She has contributed articles on these and other subjects to The Journal on Taxation, Taxation of Exempts, Tax Exempt Organization Tax Review, Spectrum Magazine, California Health Law News, and the legal newsletters published by ASC, AAHSA and CALA. She is committed to the use of plain English and advocates practical, cost-effective solutions to clients' problems.

Pamela is frequently sought after for her expertise on nonprofit and tax-exempt issues. She is a co-author of the California Continuing Education of the Bar treatise, Advising California Nonprofit Corporations (Second Edition), and a past Chair of the Tax-Exempt Organizations Committee of the Taxation Section of the State Bar. Pamela has testified before the IRS on intermediate sanctions issues and regularly advocates on behalf of the charitable sector.

Recent Presentations

• Strategies for Challenging Times, Oregon Alliance of Senior & Health Services (May 2010)
• Detecting & Responding to Signs of Financial Distress, ASC Annual Meeting (May 2010)
• Home-Grown Innovations in Senior Care, ASC Annual Meeting (May 2010)
• Coping With Disability Discrimination Laws, The Forum At Rancho San Antonio Board And Broker Training (Apr. 2010)
• The Legal Implications of Financial Instability, AAHSA Future of Aging Services Conference (Feb. 2010)
• Disclosure—A Legal Perspective, Cain Brothers Women in Senior Living Webinar (Nov. 2009)
• Maintaining Social Accountability In Tough Economic Times, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 2009 Annual Meeting (Nov. 2009)
• Current Tax Issues Facing Not-for-Profit Providers, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 2009 Annual Meeting (Nov. 2009)
• Create and Sustain Your Own Charity-Legal Insights, American Baptist Seminary of the West Presentation (Sept. 2009)
• Responding To The Warning Signs of Financial Distress, Aging Services of California Freestanding Communities Retreat (Aug. 2009)
• Home-Grown Innovations In Senior Care, International Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 8th International Conference (Jul. 2009)
• Legal Minefields and Ways Your Nonprofit Board Can Avoid Them, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging Audio Conference (Jun. 2009)
• Social Accountability: It's Not Going Away!, Aging Services of Washington 58th Annual Conference (Jun. 2009)
• Social Accountability: It's Not Going Away!, Aging Services of California 2009 Annual Conference (May 2009)
• Alternative Financing Models, or Strategies in a Soft Market, ASC 2009 Public Policy Conference (Feb. 2009)
• Continuing Care At Home and The Provider Advantage, ASC 2009 Public Policy Conference (Feb. 2009)
• A Nonprofit Director's Guide to Senior Care Governance, Private Client (Dec. 2008)
• Social Accountability: A Legal Imperative?, Private Client (Oct. 2008)
• Legal Issues, Part I—Nonprofit Developments, AAHSA Annual Meeting (Oct. 2008)
• Legal Hot Topics—Strategies for Succeeding in a Soft Market, AAHSA Annual Meeting (Oct. 2008)
• Risk Management Meets Business Opportunity: The Case for Reorganization, Private Client (Jul. 2008)
• A Trustee's Guide to Senior Care Governance, Aging Services of California Annual Meeting (May 2008)
• Legal & Accounting Update, Ziegler 2008 California Senior Living CFO Workshop (May 2008)
• Nonprofit Accountability in 2008, Private Client: Building Capacity, Improving Systems, Strengthening Communities (Apr. 2008)
• Legal Update II: Social Accountability, AAHSA Future of Aging Services Conference (Mar. 2008)
• Senior Care Board Governance in 2008, ASC Board Meeting (Feb. 2008)
• CCRC Board Governance in 2008, Private Client (Feb. 2008)

Recent Publications
"Warning: Failure to Post Proper Smoke Exposure Signs Could Be Hazardous to Your Fiscal Health," California Assisted Living Association Bulletin (May 2010)

Honors
Best Lawyers in America (2009 & 2010)
Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating

Education
J.D., Moot Court finalist, University of Virginia School of Law (1986)
B.A., with distinction, Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences (1980)