Topic: David Acheson

David Campion Acheson (born 4 November 1921) is an American lawyer and the son of former US Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

David Acheson was born in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Yale University, where he was President of the Yale Political Union with a B.A. in 1942. After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Acheson received a L.L.B. from Harvard Law School in 1948. After graduating from Harvard he joined the Atomic Energy Commission as an attorney. Starting in 1950 he spent eleven years with Covington & Burling, one of the biggest law firms in Washington. From 1961 to 1965 he served as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and served as a special assistant to Henry H. Fowler while he was Secretary of the Treasury. In 1967 Acheson left law and joined the Communications Satellite Corp., where he served various positions including Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Since 1974 he has been with a number of law firms, including Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue; Drinker Biddle & Reath, and Foley, Hoag and Eliot.

Acheson is the author of several books, including Effective Washington Representation, Among Friends: The Personal Letters of Dean Acheson and a memoir, Acheson Country. In 1986, he was appointed to the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. From 1993 to 1999 he served as President of the U.S. Atlantic Council.