David M. Becker, JD, the Joseph H. Zumbalen Professor of the Law of Property Emeritus at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, will be honored during a ceremony Nov. 14 with a $25,000 tribute from the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust for motivating a former student to make a difference in his or her community.
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Richard Teitelman, JD ’73, nominated Becker for the honor based on the extraordinary impact Becker had on Teitelman’s successful career, including as a judge and as head of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
Becker has taught at the School of Law for more than 50 years. He received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Washington University in 2012. In 2004, alumni established The David M. Becker Public Service Fellows fund to honor their teacher. Since the program’s inception, more than 40 Becker Fellows have spent a summer during law school completing meaningful public-interest legal work. More than 25 percent of the law school’s Public Interest Fellowships are Becker Fellowships.