RODERICK M. HILLS PAPERS, 1975-2005

The Roderick M. Hills Papers, 1975-1990, contain materials from Hills’ positions as Counsel to President Gerald R. Ford and as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and his post-governmental career with various companies and law firms.

After working privately in the corporate and law worlds, Roderick Hills assumed the position of Counsel to the President in March 1975. Filling the vacancy left by Philip Areeda (who left in February 1975), Hills served as primary assistant to Philip Buchen, the head of the Counsel's Office under President Ford. Hills, and his successor Edward Schmults, were deeply involved in wide-ranging federal deregulation efforts, each serving as co-chair of the Domestic Council Review Group on Regulatory Reform. Hills also played a large role in the White House response to the Arab boycott of American businesses having dealings with Israel.

Hills provided legal advice to President Ford and members of the White House staff, handled administrative matters, and reviewed documents produced by other White House offices for legal concerns. He gave advice on domestic and foreign policy issues (especially those involving legal questions), constitutional or statutory powers of the President, acceptance of gifts, the Hatch Act, and other political restrictions. Among the administrative matters he handled were conflict of interest questions, standards of conduct, secret service protection authorizations, and approval of White House contacts with independent regulatory agencies. He also reviewed action memoranda, proclamations, executive orders, Civil Aeronautics Board decisions, and personnel appointment memoranda.

In October 1975, Hills left his White House position after being appointed and confirmed as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is the federal agency with primary responsibility to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. As described by its organizational mission, the Commission’s main focus is federal laws governing securities, as it is charged with interpreting laws and issuing or amending any rules. The SEC is governed by five commissioners, each of whom is appointed by the President to serve a five-year term. One commissioner is designated by the President as Chairman and serves as executive officer of the agency.

After leaving the SEC in March 1977, Hills served on the executive boards of multiple corporations and continued his legal practice. During this period, Hills established himself as an expert on the economics of alternative energies, federal regulation of businesses, and shareholder communications, while emerging as a leading advocate of effective corporate governance.

Scope and Content
The Hills Papers document some aspects of his government service more completely than others. His materials from his time as White House Counsel are less complete than those on the SEC. (Most of the White House materials were left for his successor and can be found in the Edward Schmults Files). Materials in the Hills White House Subject File are sporadic and containing mostly pamphlets and printed government documents, including material on the Aviation Act of 1975 and the Financial Institutions Act of 1975, and a report on the doctrine of Executive Privilege. The largest portion of the Subject File is comprised of telephone logs. His White House Chronological File documents written contact between Hills’ and other White House employees with some additional outgoing correspondence. The small Correspondence File contains much that is personal in nature (e.g. congratulatory letters received upon his appointment or letters requesting or recommending other governmental appointments).

Hills’ SEC Subject Files contain mostly articles and reports published by various committees and associations, such as the American Bar Association, the American Assembly, and American Society of International Law. An additional portion of the Subject Files contains clippings of articles on financial and economic issues which extend beyond Hills’ tenure with the SEC. The Subject Files does not contain materials that illustrate Hills’ duties or accomplishments as SEC Chairman. The SEC Chronological File documents all letters and memoranda out of Hills’ office from the beginning to end of his term as Chairman. The majority of this material is comprised of Hills’ responses to congratulatory letters and speaking invitations.

Outside of items directly related to Hills’ position as Counsel and SEC Chairman, the rest of the material in Hills’ papers pertains to speeches and Congressional testimony he delivered based on the positions he held and his legal expertise. Materials in the Testimony File include drafts and transcripts of Hills’ own statements regarding issues such as Regulatory Reform, the energy crisis, and alternative fuels; the Speech File includes these topics and others from speeches delivered at governmental and non-governmental functions.

A large portion of the Hills Papers relate to work he performed outside of governmental service. Hills held positions on the executive boards of various companies and continued his private legal practice. The Post-Governmental Subject Files include documentation from cases Hills handled which involved the parties of Drexel Burnham Lambert; Oak Industries/The Manchester Group, Ltd.; Modern Materials, Inc.; and Alexander and Alexander Services. These materials are unprocessed and closed for research.

Related Materials (October 2008)
The Edward Schmults Files are very closely tied to Hills’ work as White House Counsel. As Hills’ successor, Schmults inherited and continued much of his work. Materials relating to the Ford administration's regulatory reform program comprise almost one third of the collection. This series details the activities of the Domestic Council Review Group on Regulatory Reform and also many specific regulatory reform issues they handled. Although regulatory reform materials are in a separate series, occasional items on this topic may also be found in Schmults' general file.

Also related to Hills’ work as Counsel are the Bobbie Green Kilberg Files. Kilberg inherited Hills’ materials on the Arab boycott of American business that had ties to Israel when Hills vacated his position. Though Kilberg used the materials and acquired her own, Hills’ files are maintained as a separate series in this collection.

Hills was interviewed by A. James Reichley in conjunction with the production of Reichley’s book Conservatives in an Age of Change: The Nixon and Ford Administrations (Brookings Institution, 1981). Hills’ interview covers White House administration, philosophies of the two Presidents and their administrations, relationships among various administration officials, and the roles of the Cabinet and Domestic Council. The interview is contained in the A. James Reichley Interview Transcripts.

L. William Seidman, in his positions as Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs and executive director of the Economic Policy Board (EPB), established a connection with Hills over interactions on various issues. The L. William Seidman Files contain six folders related to Roderick Hills, five of which contain materials from his tenure as Counsel (specifically, on the matters of the Arab Boycott and Airline Regulatory Reform) and one folder linked to the SEC (largely containing memoranda and economic reports).