Butler Buchanan, III

Office Managing Attorney
Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee; Attorney Hiring Chair
Senior Counsel

    Butler (Buck) Buchanan, III provides significant contributions to the leadership of the firm through his multiple roles as Managing Attorney of the Philadelphia office, Attorney Hiring Chair and Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.  His years of experience in law practice and involvement and activity in numerous professional, industry and civic organizations provide the backdrop for his ability to successfully juggle these multiple positions.

    As Managing Attorney, Buck oversees the operations, functions and initiatives of the firm's 130-attorney Philadelphia office.  In his additional role as Attorney Hiring Chair, he is responsible for the recruitment and hiring of attorneys who join the firm. He also chairs the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee where he is charged, along with his colleagues, with ensuring that the firm's deep commitment to equal opportunity employment and advancement is brought to fruition.

    Buck is a former Bucks County Deputy District Attorney, and he was engaged in private practice with a defense litigation firm before joining Marshall Dennehey's Professional Liability Department in 1999.  In that capacity, he devoted a significant portion of his law practice to the defense of insurance agents and brokers, securities dealers and attorneys.  He also handled environmental and insurance coverage matters, in addition to generic insurance defense work.

    He was promoted to Hiring Chair in 2003 and to lead the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee in 2009. During his tenure with the firm, he has also served two terms on Marshall Dennehey's Board of Directors.

    In addition to his various duties for the firm, Buck is active in a number of legal and insurance organizations. He is currently a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He is active in the Philadelphia Bar Association, where he has served as co-chair of the State-Civil Litigation Committee and as a member of the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention. He is currently co-chair of the Large Law Firm Management Committee. He is a current member and a past-president of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel and serves on the Board of Directors of the Insurance Society of Philadelphia. He is additionally a member of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute and the Defense Research Institute, where he has served on its Board of Directors.

    Buck graduated from Millersville University, cum laude, in 1976 and earned his J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law in 1979. Devoted to community and civic affairs, he is a former member of the Advisory Board of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Welcome Center and a former member of the Board of Directors of Mercy Vocational High School.

    Significant Representative Matters

    Successfully resolved numerous declaratory judgment actions seeking insurance coverage from numerous insurers wherein plaintiff corporations demanded payment of $100 million(+) to resolve claims seeking environmental coverage, coverage for hearing loss, coverage for asbestos claims, and various other types of claims.

    Successfully defended case via jury trial wherein plaintiff physician sought several million dollars in coverage for long term disability coverage. Client was the insurance agent that sold the policies in question.

    Classes/Seminars Taught

    Best Practices for Retaining & Promoting Diverse Talent, Philadelphia Diversity Law Group's Diversity & Inclusion Symposium, November 2015

    Barristers' Association of Philadelphia Leadership Academy, January 2015

    Do the Right Thing! - Ethical Issues Arising in Litigation, Philadelphia Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference, October 2014

    Women in the Profession Roundtable Discussion, participant, The Legal Intelligencer, April 2014

    Technology and Law, DRI Annual Meeting

    The Use of E-Mail and Electronic Documents Storage, DRI Annual Meeting

    Electronic Discovery, DRI Seminar, Chicago, Illinois

    Insurance Roundtable - Recent Developments Concerning Class Action Litigation, DRI, Chicago, Illinois

    Insurance Coverage and Practice, DRI Seminar, New York, New York

    Encouraging Ethics in Civility and Pre-Trial Practice, Pennsylvania Defense Institute, Philadelphia, PA

    Professionalism and Civility:  Is Civility Still the Rule in Civil Litigation Today? Atlantic City, New Jersey

    Optimizing Brownfield Liability Recovery Through Insurance Settlement Strategies and Asset Management, Washington, D.C.

    Lawyers' Professionalism – What Does It Mean in Everyday Practice? Philadelphia, PA

    Seminars presented for Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, National Insurance Industry Association

    Published Works

    "Success in Recruiting and Retaining Minority Attorneys Starts at the Top," Diversity Insider Newsletter, DRI, December 2018

    "Common Sense Ways to Increase Minority Representation Among Interviewees," The Legal Intelligencer, Diversity Supplement, April 2011

    "The Importance of Internet and Email Monitoring," The Practical Lawyer, December 2006

    Admissions
    Pennsylvania
    1979
    Education
    Duquesne University School of Law (J.D., 1979)
    Millersville University (B.A., cum laude, 1976)
    Honors & awards
    Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
    2009-2021
    2021 Renaissance Man Award, Philadelphia Chapter of the National Bar Association Women Lawyers Division
    2021 Diversity Leader in Business Award, Philadelphia Business Journal
    Associations & memberships
    American Bar Association
    Defense Research Institute, Board of Directors, 2001-2004; Pennsylvania State Representative, 1997-2000
    Senior Hearing Officer, Serving the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2018 - present; Hearing Officer, 2005-2011
    Insurance Society of Philadelphia, Member of Board of Directors, 2013 - present
    Lawyers Club of Philadelphia, Board of Trustees, 2020
    Montgomery County Archdiocesan Council on Elementary Education, Member, 2013-2017
    Pennsylvania Bar Association
    Pennsylvania Defense Institute
    Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel, President, 2000-2001; Member, Executive Committee, 1996-2002
    Philadelphia Bar Association, Co-Chair, Large Law Firm Management Committee, 2019 - present; Chair, Campaign for Qualified Judges, 2015-2016
    Philadelphia Bar Association, Co-Chair of State-Civil Litigation Committee, 2012-2014; Member, Board of Governors, 2004-2006; 2014 - ; Member, Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, 2012-2014
    Sisters of St. Joseph Welcome Center Advisory Board Member, 2008 - 2018
    Mercy Vocational High School, Board of Directors, 2010-2013