(April 8, 1940 - )

DAVID J. BECK
State Bar President, 1995-1996

David J. Beck co-founded Beck Redden in January 1992. He was formerly a senior partner in Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston.

A member of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors from 1980 to 1983, Beck chaired various State Bar committees, including the General Convention, Convention Evaluation, and Staff Efficiency committees. He also served as chair of the Tort and Compensation Section, chair of the Environmental and Natural Resources Section, and as a member of the Rules Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Texas.

Beck served as president of the American College of Trial Lawyers and as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Center for American and International Law. He currently serves as chair of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Fellows. Beck is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, is a diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and has served as the president of the International Association of Defense Counsel. He has been included in the Best Lawyers in America for over 30 years in eight separate areas of litigation practice. 

Beck’s numerous honors include: Recognized as a “Legal Legend” by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas (2022); recipient of the Justice Eugene A. Cook Professionalism Award from the Houston Bar Association (2021); Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All by the Center for American and International Law (2019); Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers Hall of Fame (2017); the Luke H. Soules III Award for Excellence in Litigation by the State Bar Litigation Section (2016); Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Texas Chapter of TEX-ABOTA (2015); and the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Fifth Circuit (2011).

In 2004, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Beck to the prestigious Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. The committee’s members include some of the leading judges, academicians, and practitioners in the United States. In 2007, Chief Justice John Roberts reappointed him to a three-year term on the committee.

In 2007, Beck received the Leon Green Award from the Texas Law Review Association. Most recently, he received the Joe Reynolds Award from the American College of Trial Lawyers for “actions and accomplishments that manifest a lifetime’s commitment to advancing the administration of justice through service to the legal profession.”

Beck is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law. He also has won various awards for his legal writing. In 2019, Beck received the Outstanding Law Review Article Award from the Texas Bar Foundation for his co-authored article titled “Legal Malpractice in Texas” (70 Baylor Law Review 213 (2018)). He also is the author of Thompson Reuters’ Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code (2005-2023).