Attorney Profiles
Butler Buchanan III Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| Shareholder; Hiring Partner; Chair, Diversity Committee | |
| phone | (215) 575-2661 |
| fax | (215) 575-0856 |
| bbbuchanan@mdwcg.com | |
Butler has devoted a significant amount of his law practice to the defense of insurance agents and brokers, securities dealers, and attorneys. His practice also encompasses insurance coverage, generic insurance defense, and commercial litigation.
Butler is the hiring partner at Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, and is responsible for the recruitment and hiring process of the attorneys who join our firm. He also Chairs the Diversity Committee and in this position is charged, along with his colleagues, with ensuring that our firm maintains a deep commitment to equal-opportunity employment and advancement.
In 1976 Butler graduated, cum laude, from Millersville University with a B.A. degree. He then attended the Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1979. Upon graduation, he joined the Bucks County District Attorney's Office in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, initially as an Assistant District Attorney, and within two years was promoted to the position of Deputy District Attorney. Butler tried numerous felony cases to verdict during his tenure there.
In 1983, Butler joined the legal staff of Betz Laboratories, Inc., a specialty chemical concern whose corporate offices were located in Trevose, Pennsylvania. While there, Butler advised company executives on a variety of legal issues and was involved in defending the company from lawsuits brought by state and federal authorities for alleged environmental contamination. In addition to those duties, Butler was responsible for the procurement and administration of the company's insurance on an international basis. This role entailed negotiating worldwide insurance coverages with and through the insurance brokerage firms and, in many instances, negotiating directly with underwriters.
After leaving Betz, Butler joined another insurance defense firm in the Philadelphia area, concentrating his practice in insurance coverage, including environmental claims, insurance coverage litigation, insurance agents and brokers errors & omissions defense, liquor liability defense, and general commercial litigation.
When not practicing law, Butler serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Children's Alliance as well as a member of Board of Directors of Sisters of Saint Joseph Welcome Center.
Significant Representative Matters:
- Year Joined Organization:
- 1999
- Areas of Practice:
- Insurance Agents & Brokers Errors & Omission Defense
- Insurance Coverage, including Environmental Matters
- Declaratory Judgment Actions
- General Insurance Defense
- Commercial Litigation
- Education:
- Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
1979
J.D. - Millersville University,
1976
B.A.
Honors: Cum Laude
- Classes/Seminars Taught:
- DRI Annual Meeting - Technology and Law
- DRI Annual Meeting - The Use of E-Mail and Electronic Documents Storage
- DRI Electronic Discovery Seminar - Chicago, Illinois
- DRI Insurance Roundtable - Recent Developments Concerning Class Action Litigation - Chicago, Illinois
- DRI Insurance Coverage and Practice Seminar - New York, New York
- Seminars presented for PICPA - Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, National Insurance Industry Association
- Professional Associations and Memberships:
- American Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute, Board of Directors (2001-2004)
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Defense Institute
- Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel, Past President
- Philadelphia Bar Association, Member of Board of Governors
- PLUS - Professional Liability Underwriting Society
- Past Employment Positions:
- Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Deputy District Attorney, 1979 - 1983
- Betz Laboratories, Inc., Assistant General Counsel, 1983 - 1986