Donald H. Balleisen papers, 1939-1994
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Summary
- Creator:
- Balleisen, Donald H., 1924-1993
- Abstract:
- Donald Balleisen (1924-1993) was a corporate attorney for R.J. Reynolds, other corporations, and the state of Kentucky. Collection includes assorted files and opinions from legal cases involving R.J. Reynolds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and other organizations. Collection also includes personal and educational materials documenting Balleisen's life.
- Extent:
- 5 Linear Feet (2 boxes, 2 oversize folders, 5 volumes)
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.11512
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection consists of legal materials related to Balleisen's work on R. J. Reynolds acquisitions of Penick and Ford, College Inn Foods, and Patio Foods. Also includes Balleisen's draft of his investigation into R. J. Reynolds' liability for damages following tobacco users' lawsuits beginning in the 1950s. Other legal cases and work from Balleisen's career, primarily from his time as a partner with Greenebaum, Doll, Matthews, and Boone, are also present. The collection also contains personal and educational materials from Balleisen's life, including school work and ephemera from Polytechnic Preparatory School, Princeton, and Harvard; World War II service records; alumni reports; documents related to Balleisen's admittance to the New York and Kentucky state bars; photographs; and other materials documenting Balleisen's life.
- Biographical / historical:
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Donald H. Balleisen (1924-1993), originally from Brooklyn, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and graduated from Princeton University (class of 1946). He attended Harvard Law School and subsequently joined a New York law firm. He was secretary and general counsel of Penick and Ford, N.Y., until 1969, when he relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. Balleisen represented R. J. Reynolds, a number of other large corporations, and the state of Kentucky as a partner in Greenebaum, Doll, Matthews, and Boone. As a corporate attorney, Balleisen specialized in mergers and acquisitions. Balleisen was also an active board member of Louisville's Lincoln Foundation and helped develop the organization's Whitney M. Young Scholars Program, aimed at helping disadvantaged youth reach and pay for college. Balleisen continued to practice law in Louisville until his passing in 1993.
- Acquisition information:
- The Donald H. Balleisen Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from Edward J. Balleisen in 2017 and 2021.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Meghan Lyon, Sept. 2017.
Accession 2021-0089 added and collection updated by Leah Tams, June 2025.
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2017-0133, 2021-0089.
- Arrangement:
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Arranged into three series: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; Other Legal Work; and Personal and Educational Materials.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
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- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Donald H. Balleisen Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1xk5d