The Founders Award recognizes an individual for significant contributions to LCJ’s advocacy work for procedural reform, including efforts to bring fairness and transparency to multidistrict litigation. LCJ is an advocacy organization based in Arlington, Va., focused on the reform of procedural litigation rules. Its members work to develop and advocate for reform proposals that improve the fairness and efficiency of civil litigation.

“We are grateful for Jim’s continued work on behalf of LCJ,” said Alex Dahl, LCJ’s general counsel. “He has contributed significantly to many of our initiatives, including privacy and cyber security, expert evidence admissibility, third-party litigation funding disclosure, and MDL rules, as well as LCJ’s amicus work. His work is having a lasting impact on the legal system and countless litigation matters.” 

Beck joined Reed Smith’s life sciences/health industry, product liability and appellate groups in 2012. His practice includes complex personal injury and product liability litigation, and he oversees the development of legal defenses, master briefs and dispositive motions in multidistrict litigation matters and other mass tort actions. In addition, he drafts appellate briefs in product liability matters, including amicus curiae briefs.

Highly regarded for his thought leadership on product liability law, Beck is founder and co-host of the award-winning Drug and Device Law Blog. In addition to the blog, he is has served on the case selection committee for the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) for a quarter century and has written more amicus briefs for PLAC than anyone else in the history of that organization. In 2011, he was awarded PLAC’s highest honor. Beck has also received multiple awards from the Pennsylvania Defense Institute and the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel for his efforts on the state level.

“Jim is a stalwart supporter and continues to dedicate significant time, knowledge, and talent to LCJ’s work,” said Molly Craig, president of the LCJ Executive Committee. “We have worked closely with Jim for many years and hold him in such high regard. This is a much-deserved honor for his countless contributions to the legal system.”