David Beck Receives American Inns of Court 2011 Professionalism Award

David J. Beck, Esquire, a prominent Houston attorney, has been selected to receive the American Inns of Court 2011 Professionalism Award for the Fifth Circuit.

Mr. Beck founded his namesake firm, Beck, Redden & Secrest, in 1992. He was formerly a senior partner with Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, in Houston. He is a very active trial lawyer who has been named one of the country’s 10 best by the National Law Journal. In 2010, Texas Monthly called Beck one of Texas’ top 10 “super lawyers.”

He has represented such clients as American Airlines, Exxon, and ExxonMobil. Perhaps his most infamous case was his successful defense of attorneys who prepared the estate plan of deceased billionaire Howard Marshall, when the plan was challenged in court by his former wife, Anna Nicole Smith.
In 2004, Chief Justice of the United States William Rehnquist appointed Mr. Beck to the prestigious Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, and Chief Justice John Roberts reappointed him for a second term in 2007. The committee’s members include some of the leading judges, academicians, and practitioners in the United States.

Mr. Beck has served as president of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the State Bar of Texas, and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He has served his community through positions on the City of Houston’s Civil Service Commission, the Houston Business Arts Fund, and the Houston Symphony.
Mr. Beck earned his bachelor’s degree from Lamar University, and his law degree from the University of Texas Law School. He has received Lamar’s Outstanding Alumnus Award, and has endowed a fellowship to reward academic achievement. Mr. Beck has also endowed a Presidential Scholarship at the University of Texas Law School, and has endowed the Law School’s Center for Advocacy. He has been recognized both as a Distinguished Alumnus of the Law School and of the University of Texas at Austin.

The American Inns of Court fosters excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility, and legal skills. The American Inns of Court membership includes more than 28,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in more than 350 chapters across the United States. Additionally, there are more than 85,000 alumni members. The organization, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, presents Professionalism Awards at participating circuits nationwide. The awards are underwritten in part by Thomson-Reuters.