CFA Service:
1977–1981
An attorney, Philip William Buchen received his law degree in 1941 from the University of Michigan, where he met and befriended Gerald Ford, with whom he formed a law practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the early 1940s. Buchen continued to practice law in Grand Rapids until 1974 when he came to Washington to serve on Vice President Ford’s staff; later that year he became White House counsel to President Ford and served until 1977. After Ford left office, Buchen remained in Washington, practicing law with the firm of Dewey Ballantine until 1995.