Edward F. Cox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward Ridley Finch Cox

Born October 4, 1946 (1946-10-04) (age 61)
Southampton, Suffolk, New York
Residence Manhattan, New York
Spouse Patricia Nixon Cox (1971 - present)
Children Christopher Nixon Cox (b. 1979)
Parents Howard Ellis Cox and Anne Crane Delafield Finch

Edward Ridley Finch Cox (born October 4, 1946 in Southampton, Suffolk, New York), the son of Howard Ellis Cox and Anne Crane Delafield Finch Cox, is a lawyer who is best known as the son-in-law of the late President Richard M. Nixon. He is the scion of four old American families, the Finches, the Coxes, the Livingstons, and the Delafields. Cox is a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Cox graduated from Princeton University (the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, class of 1968) and Harvard Law School (class of 1972).

[edit] Personal history

In 1971, Cox married Tricia Nixon, daughter of then-President Nixon, in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. The wedding was described in Life Magazine as "akin to American royalty." Tricia and Edward have a son, Christopher. They currently reside on Long Island, New York.

[edit] Professional history

After attending Harvard Law School, Cox was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1973. In 1974 he was admitted to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York Bar Association, Eastern District of New York Bar Association, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit Bar Association.

Cox has held a number of positions in government and professional organizations. Some of these include: Commissioner, New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination; founder of New York Secretary of State's Corporation Advisory Task Force; Member, New York, Federal and American (Corporate Section) Bar associations, New York Bar Foundation, New York City Bar and American College of Investment Counsel; Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Federal Energy Finance Agency; Vice-Chair, New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund; Chairman, State University Construction Fund; Trustee, State University of New York (Chair, Finance and Administration Committee; Co-Chair, Charter Schools Committee; and Co-Chair, Community College Committee); Chair, New York State Council of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Trustee, Fund for Modern Courts; Director, Noble Energy, Inc. (an NYSE worldwide oil and gas exploration and production company); Assisted President Nixon with trips to China, Cuba, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, Egypt, France, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, England, Japan, North andSouth Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Pakistan, and Turkey; Fact-finding trips to Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Russia; Member or otherwise active in various foreign policy organizations, including Foreign Policy Association (Director) and Council on Foreign Relations.

In his current position as a partner at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, he handles corporate and finance law with experience in general representation of public and private entities, including financings, acquisitions, and joint ventures, both domestic and international. He was previously a partner at the now-defunct, old-line New York law firm of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine. In 1997, Mr. Cox and his former law firm were sued by Florida Power & Light for their role in promoting a failed power plant venture in South Carolina.

[edit] Political Ambitions

Although initially rumored to be considering a run for New York Governor George Pataki's seat should he not seek re-election, he later chose instead to run against Hillary Clinton in the 2006 New York U.S. Senate election for her seat. Initial reports indicated he would run as a fiscal conservative and an environmentalist. However, following Governor Pataki's endorsement of rival Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Cox announced on October 14 that he was no longer running for the U.S. Senate [1].