James joined Reed Smith Spring of 2012 in the Life Sciences Health Industries Group.
He handles complex personal injury and product liability litigation. He has overseen the development of legal defenses, master briefs, and dispositive motions in numerous mass torts, including Seroquel, a Merck pain killer, diet drugs, Baycol, and orthopedic bone screws. Orthopedic Bone Screw ended with summary judgments in more than 170 cases, and prevailing in every appeal.
James is a member of the Product Liability Advisory Committee (PLAC) and has sat on PLAC’s case selection committee since 1997. He has written over 50 amicus curiae briefs on product liability issues for PLAC. In 2011, Mr. Beck was awarded the PLAC’s John P. Raleigh Award, the highest honor given by the organization to one of its members. This award recognizes Mr. Beck’s overall contributions to the law of product liability, making him the eighth recipient of the Raleigh award in the almost 30-year history of the PLAC.
James has also prepared amicus briefs for the American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Medical Association and several of its state affiliates, the Anti-Defamation League, the Business Roundtable, the Pennsylvania Defense Research Institute, the United States Chamber of Commerce, and the Washington Legal Foundation. Mr. Beck has been chair of the Publications Subcommittee of the Mass Torts Litigation Committee of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association since 2002. He has been named Outstanding Subcommittee Chair three times, in 2003-04, 2006-07, and 2008-09.