Edward F. Cox

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Edward Ridley Finch Cox, born in Suffolk County, New York, is a lawyer who is most well known as the son-in-law of Richard M. Nixon. He is the scion of two old American families, the Finches and the Coxes. Cox is a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb and 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.

[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. On June 20, 2005, Cox launched his official Senatorial Exploratory Website [1]. However, following Governor Pataki's endorsement of rival Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Cox announced, on October 14, that he is no longer running for the U.S. Senate [2].