Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Katayun I. Jaffari issued the following statement in memory of Honorable Phyllis W. Beck, retired judge of the Superior Court who passed away on March 3.
“Judge Beck was a treasured member of the Philadelphia legal community. She was a distinguished jurist, a trailblazer, a teacher, a mentor, and a philanthropist,” Jaffari said. “She was dedicated to the people of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, advocating for judicial independence and reforms to create a more equitable justice system. Judge Beck was also a staunch supporter of legal education, providing wise counsel and mentorship to the many law students with which she interacted, and finding ways to improve and enhance legal education in Philadelphia.”
Judge Beck was the first woman to serve on the Pennsylvania Superior Court. She was appointed in 1981 by then-Governor Dick Thornburgh and then subsequently elected to a full 10-year term in 1983. Judge Beck was appointed by Governor Bob Casey to be part of a 23-member committee that identified ways to modernize Pennsylvania’s Court System in the late 1980s. In addition to her time serving on the judiciary, Judge Beck was also a faculty member at Temple and Villanova law schools, and was Vice Dean at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. A graduate of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, Judge Beck established the Beck Chair in Law at Temple to bring to campus notable leaders and scholars in law as visiting professors.
After retiring from the bench in 2006, Judge Beck served as general counsel of the Barnes Foundation, advisory board chair of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, mediator for Superior Court and in asbestos cases for the First Judicial District, and chair of the Independence Foundation, which invests in people and programs that enrich the life experiences of people in the Philadelphia area.
She was the 1997 recipient of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Brennan Distinguished Jurist Award, which recognizes a jurist who adheres to the highest ideals of judicial service. Judge Beck was the 2005 recipient of the Justice Sandra Day O’ Connor Award from the Association’s Women in the Profession Committee. The O’Connor Award recognizes an outstanding woman attorney who exemplifies the qualities that Justice O’Connor has demonstrated in her life and work.
“In her acceptance speech for the Bar Association’s O’Connor Award in 2005, Judge Beck described herself and fellow women who became lawyers in the 1950s and 1960s as a ‘brave band of sisters who marched into a profession that was not ready for us,’” Jaffari said. “Though Judge Beck graduated first in her law school class in 1967, when she went before the Delaware County ethics committee to get approval to take the bar exam, which was then a requirement for new attorneys, the committee at first turned her down. How could she be morally fit to be an attorney, Judge Beck recalled the committee asking, when she was neglecting her responsibilities to her household and children?”
“Judge Beck persisted, and a second committee gave her the approval she needed to take and pass the bar,” Jaffari continued. “Her refusal to accept limits paved the way for other women to follow in her footsteps and build successful legal careers here in Philadelphia. We are grateful to Judge Beck for her courage, guidance and leadership. She will be greatly missed.”
