Kenneth B. Liffman

Overview

Kenneth B. Liffman is the Chairman of the Board and President of McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman Co., L.P.A.  He joined the firm in 1979 and was Managing Principal from 1993 until December 2017.  The majority of his practice focuses on transactions, banking matters, and real estate law. He has extensive experience in all aspects of transactions, whether as a borrower, banker, buyer, seller, landlord or tenant. He has been involved in every type of acquisition and sale of commercial and industrial real estate, as well as construction and commercial lease matters. Since 2004, Mr. Liffman has been recognized by his peers as one of Northeast Ohio’s Top Real Estate Attorneys, as an Ohio Super Lawyer® and since 2006, as a Best Lawyer in America.

As Chairman of the Board, Mr. Liffman leads McCarthy Lebit by both policy and example. In addition to his experience managing the firm for over 25 years, he has also maintained a strong presence in the community, including over a decade as trustee for Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, board member of United Jewish Cemeteries, Cleveland Trustee for the Jewish National Fund, trustee for the Cleveland Chapter of American ORT, and board member for the United States Committee Sports for Israel. Mr. Liffman has been President of the firm’s Charitable Foundation since it was formed in 1993, is on the Board of Visitors of the CSU College of Law, and has assisted in the coordination and implementation of funds and programs for both the College of Law and the City of Cleveland School System.

Mr. Liffman is the recipient of the 2012 ORT Jurisprudence Award, a past recipient of the Sadie and Maurice Friedman Cleveland ORT Leadership Award and the 2000 Chapter Supporter of the Year for American ORT. In 1996, he created the American ORT Jurisprudence Dinner for the Cleveland chapter and served as its Chairman for more than ten years. He continues to co-chair the event to this day. In 2017, Mr. Liffman was named one of the 18 Difference Makers in our community by Cleveland Jewish News.  He sits on the Board of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage and is the Chair of the Holocaust Memory Survivor Project. In 2018, he was elected to the Board of InMotion to aid those who have Parkinson’s Disease. Further, he was awarded the ORT Maimonides Award for Outstanding Community Service and named to the CSU College of Law Hall of Fame. Most recently, in 2022, he received recognition as a “Notable in Law” by Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Mr. Liffman received his B.S. from Miami University in Finance and graduated from the CSU College of Law, Magna Cum Laude.