James J. Blanchard: Difference between revisions

Blanchard was born in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]] on August 8, 1942. He grew up and attended the public schools in [[Ferndale, Michigan]]. He received a Bachelor of Arts from [[Michigan State University]] in 1964 and an [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]] in 1965. Blanchard received a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] in 1968 and was admitted to the [[State Bar of Michigan]] soon after.

HeBlanchard commenced practice as an attorney in [[Lansing, Michigan|Lansing]] and served as legal advisor to the [[Michigan Secretary of State]], 1968–1969in 1968 and 1969. He was Assistant [[Attorney General of Michigan]], 1969–1974from 1969 to 1974, administrative assistant to the attorney general, 1970–1971from 1970 to 1971, and assistant deputy attorney general, 1971–1972from 1971 to 1972. In 1974 he joined the law firm of Beer and Boltz, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

After losing the gubernatorial election to John Engler in 1990, Blanchard became a partner in the Washington law firm of [[DLA Piper#Piper Rudnick|Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand]]. He also chaired [[Bill Clinton]]’s's successful campaign for president in Michigan in 1992.

President Bill Clinton appointed himBlanchard [[United States Ambassador to Canada|Ambassador to Canada]], a position he held from 1993 to 1996. In 2002, Blanchard again ran for governor but lost his primary bid to [[Jennifer Granholm]]. {{As of|2004}}, he iswas a partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of DLA Piper U.S. and resides in Beverly Hills, Michigan. He serves as Chairman of Meridian International Center<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meridian.org|title=Meridian International Center|work=meridian.org}}</ref> and on the Advisory Board<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicslaw.org/board.html|title=Politics Law and Economics Blog|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006105357/http://www.politicslaw.org/board.html|archive-date=2007-10-06}}</ref> of the [[Institute for Law and Politics]] at the [[University of Minnesota Law School]] and iswas President of the [[Foundation for the National Archives]]. Blanchard is also co-chairchaired of the Canada-United States Law Institute.

Blanchard served on the board of theCanadian pipeline corporation [[Enbridge]] for over 10 years and advised them following the 2010 [[Kalamazoo River oil spill]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martinez |first1=Shandra |title=Former Governor Blanchard advising Enbridge on handling of Michigan oil spill |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2010/07/former_governor_blanchard_advi.html |work=MLive |date=July 31, 2010 |language=en}}</ref> He also served as a member of the "Debt Reduction Task Force"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bipartisanpolicy.org/article/common-sense-coin-could-save-mint/|title=Search results for: debt-initiative about|access-date=2 February 2017}}</ref> at the [[Bipartisan Policy Center]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/debt-reduction-task-force-members |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-11-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213033551/http://bipartisanpolicy.org/debt-reduction-task-force-members |archive-date=2010-12-13 }}</ref> and was a board member of [[Nortel]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/13/business/investors-are-taking-long-hard-look-at-nortel-s-board.html|title=Investors Are Taking Long, Hard Look at Nortel's Board|date=13 May 2004|work=The New York Times|access-date=2 February 2017}}</ref> and [[Chrysler Group LLC]] ( 2009–2012).