Walter Hull Beckham Jr. was an American trial lawyer, legal educator, and University of Miami law professor whose career combined private practice, teaching, aviation and insurance law, and leadership in major American trial-law organizations. He helped establish civil trial advocacy education and founded the Medical Institute for Attorneys.
Background
Walter Hull Beckham Jr. was born in Albany, Georgia, on April 18, 1920. His family moved to Miami when he was five. His father, Walter Hull Beckham Sr., served as a judge of the former Dade County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, while his mother, Clara Marshall Beckham, led the Dade County Council PTA. During the Great Depression, Beckham worked at Tanner’s, an early Miami grocery store, where he learned to cut meat and helped provide food for the family. He met Ethel Koger at Ada Merritt Junior High School; they later attended Miami High School and married in 1941.
Education
Beckham earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in American history from Emory University in 1941. After wartime naval service, he attended Harvard Law School and received a Bachelor of Laws degree cum laude in 1948. At Harvard, he received the James A. Rumrill Scholarship and served as an editor of volume 61 of the Harvard Law Review. His education combined historical study, legal scholarship, and practical preparation for a career in trial advocacy.
Career
After graduating from Emory University in 1941, Beckham entered the United States Naval Reserve and served on active duty in the Pacific Theater during World War II from 1941 to 1946. He reached the rank of lieutenant commander during the war and later retired from the Naval Reserve as a captain after 28 years of service. Following Harvard Law School, he returned to Miami and joined the University of Miami faculty as an associate professor of law. In 1949 he became one of the Florida Bar’s 151 charter members and joined the Miami firm of Dixon, DeJarnette and Bradford, while continuing to teach evening classes at the University of Miami Law School. In October 1950 he joined Nichols, Gaither & Green and became a partner in 1952. He remained with the firm until it dissolved in 1967, practicing principally as a trial lawyer with particular expertise in aviation and insurance law. In 1967 he became of counsel to the firm established by his former associate Aaron Podhurst, later known as Podhurst, Orseck, Parks, Josefsberg, Eaton, Meadow, Olin & Perwin, P.A., and maintained that association until his death. Beckham also returned to the University of Miami as a professor of law in 1967. He taught torts and medical-legal trial tactics, helped establish the school’s civil trial advocacy course with Dean Fred Lewis, and founded the Medical Institute for Attorneys, serving as its director for 15 years. He retired from full-time teaching in 1982 as professor emeritus. His professional work was accompanied by extensive leadership in the American Bar Association, national trial-advocacy organizations, and the National Judicial College.
Achievements
Helped establish the University of Miami School of Law’s civil trial advocacy course.
Founded the Medical Institute for Attorneys and directed it for 15 years.
Founding member and trustee of the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Established, with his wife Ethel, the Walter and Ethel Beckham Scholarship for University of Miami School of Law J.D. students.
Works
U.S. Supreme Court transcript of record with supporting pleadings
(Reprint of the United States Supreme Court record for cas...)
2011
Religion
He was a devout Methodist.
Views
Beckham drew personal inspiration from the poem “I Dare You” by M. A. Purdy, particularly its emphasis on giving to those in need, sharing strength and time, and using one’s life as a beacon for others.
Quotations:
“I dare you to give to those in need, to share your strength and your time, for in giving and sharing you gain new hope for the world and all mankind.”
Membership
Beckham held memberships and leadership positions in numerous legal, educational, civic, and professional organizations. His American Bar Association service included chairing the Tort and Insurance Practice Section in 1974–1975, serving on the House of Delegates from 1979 to 1985 and from 1987 to 1995, serving as secretary-elect in 1986–1987, secretary from 1987 to 1990, and participating in special committees on the tort liability system and association governance. He was a member of the American Bar Foundation, American College of Trial Lawyers, American Law Institute, Florida Bar Association, Dade County Bar Association, Maritime Law Association of the United States, International Academy of Law and Science, Law Science Institute, Inner Circle of Advocates, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Delta, Chi Phi, and Kiwanis. He chaired the Aviation Section of the American Trial Lawyers Association from 1966 to 1968 and served as president of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers in 1973. He was a founding member of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, served as its trustee, and chaired the National Institute for Trial Advocacy from 1983 to 1985. He was a director of the Medical Institute for Attorneys from 1968 to 1983, a trustee of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy from 1976 to 1986, and served as trustee and later chairman of the National Judicial College. His civic service included leadership of the Greater Miami YMCA, the Crippled Children’s Society of Dade County, the Dade County Mental Health Board, and the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly.
Served on the special committee on the tort liability system and the special commission on association governance; chaired the Tort and Insurance Practice Section from 1974 to 1975, served in the House of Delegates from 1979 to 1985 and from 1987 to 1995, was secretary-elect from 1986 to 1987, and secretary from 1987 to 1990.
American Bar Association
,
United States
1979 - 1984
American Bar Foundation
,
United States
American College of Trial Lawyers
,
United States
American Law Institute
,
United States
Chairman of the Aviation Section.
American Trial Lawyers Association
,
United States
1966 - 1968
Served on the Board of Governors of the Junior Bar Section.
Florida Bar Association
,
United States
President of the Junior Bar Section from 1952 to 1953 and member of the executive committee from 1953 to 1954.
Dade County Bar Association
,
United States
1952 - 1953
President in 1973.
International Academy of Trial Lawyers
,
United States
International Academy of Law and Science
,
United States
Law Science Institute
,
United States
Maritime Law Association of the United States
,
United States
Trustee from 1976 to 1986 and chairman from 1983 to 1985.
National Institute for Trial Advocacy
,
United States
1976 - 1986
Inner Circle of Advocates
,
United States
Director from 1968 to 1983.
Medical Institute for Attorneys
,
United States
1968 - 1983
Founding member.
National Board of Trial Advocacy
,
United States
Phi Beta Kappa
,
United States
Omicron Delta Kappa
,
United States
Phi Alpha Delta
,
United States
Chi Phi
,
United States
Kiwanis
,
United States
President.
Greater Miami YMCA
,
United States
1963 - 1968
President.
Crippled Children’s Society of Dade County
,
United States
1968 - 1969
Member.
Dade County Mental Health Board
,
United States
1971 - 1973
Chairman of the board of trustees.
YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly
,
United States
1977 - 1979
Trustee, chairman from 1995 to 1996, and chairman emeritus from 1996.
National Judicial College
,
United States
1990 - 1996
Personality
Colleagues and former students described Beckham as courtly, brilliant, ethical, and soft-spoken. He emphasized preparation and knowledge of the law over theatricality in the courtroom.
Quotes from others about the person
Former partner Aaron Podhurst remembered Beckham as a brilliant and ethical lawyer who set exceptionally high professional standards. Beckham was also remembered for saying that a trial lawyer must first learn the law before resorting to shouting in court.
Connections
Beckham was married to M. Ethel Koger Beckham, whom he had known since adolescence. They had three children: Barbara, Walter H. Beckham III, and James K. Beckham. Together, Walter and Ethel Beckham established a scholarship for students in the J.D. program at the University of Miami School of Law.
Wife:
M. Ethel Koger Beckham
They married in 1941 and remained married until his death in 2011.
Walter H. Beckham, Jr. (1920–2011)
Firm biography documenting Beckham’s education, naval service, legal practice, University of Miami teaching, professional leadership, and scholarship.
2015
In Memoriam
Florida Bar memorial listing Beckham’s admission to the bar in 1949 and death on October 4, 2011.
2012
Walter H. Beckham Jr.
Funeral-home obituary documenting Beckham’s education, legal practice, teaching, Medical Institute for Attorneys leadership, family, and personal inspiration.
2011
Hon. William M. Hoeveler Award recipients
University of Miami Center for Ethics and Public Service annual report listing Walter H. Beckham Jr. as the 2004 recipient of the William M. Hoeveler Award.
