Name Philip Buchen Died May 21, 2001 | Education University of Michigan | |
Philip William Buchen (February 27, 1916 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin – May 21, 2001 in Washington, D.C.) was an American attorney who served as White House Counsel during the Ford Administration. While still a child he contracted polio and thereafter walked with a cane.
Career
Buchen graduated from Sheboygan High School in 1935 and received his law degree in 1941 from the University of Michigan, where he met Gerald Ford. He opened a law practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan with Ford in May 1941.
Save for an interregnum as Vice President of Grand Valley State College (1961-1967), Buchen continued to practice law with a variety of firms in Grand Rapids until 1974, when he came to Washington to serve on Vice President Ford's staff as Executive Director of the Domestic Council Committee on the Right of Privacy. After Ford became president in August, Buchen was appointed chief Counsel to the President, serving until 1977. In September 1974, Buchen received Cabinet rank for the duration of his tenure. Although several other members of the White House legal staff (including William E. Casselman II and Phillip E. Areeda) also held the title of Counsel to the President throughout the Ford administration, this position would eventually evolve into the Deputy White House Counsel billet in subsequent presidencies.
When Ford left office, Buchen remained in Washington, practicing law as a partner of Dewey Ballantine until 1995. He also served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1977 to 1981.