Philip E. Beard
pbeard@scbslaw.com

Phil Beard graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 1956 and obtained his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1961. After a brief tenure on the legal staff of ALCOA, he entered private practice with the Firm. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Bankruptcy Committee of the Commercial Law League of America which prepared special reports to the House Judiciary Committee on several drafts of what eventually became the Bankruptcy Code of 1978. Phil was the founder of the Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association, was its first Chairman and still is on its Board. He has been the Chairman of the Rules Committee of the Bankruptcy Section for many years and was the primary draftsperson of the Local Bankruptcy Rules. He is also a contributing editor to the Commercial Law Journal. He has given numerous seminars over the years to Bar Association groups on the subject of Bankruptcy and has been counsel to Trustees, Debtors and Creditor Committees in many significant bankruptcies, Chapter 11s and out-of-court workouts. Phil has also served as legal counsel for many small and medium sized corporations and is involved in estate work as well.

His community emphasis has been the volunteer hours that he has given to the Bar Association and the Bankruptcy Bar, as well as the legal work that he has done over 25 years in establishing and representing Vintage, one of Pittsburgh's leading senior centers. His other interest has been in historical preservation of Pittsburgh's commercial buildings.

Both Phil and the Firm have an AV rating in Martindale Hubbell and he has also been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in all its annual editions since its inception in 1987. He has been designated as a Certified Business Bankruptcy Specialist by the American Board of Certification. In 1996, Phil was made a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.

Phil's wife, Melinda, has been the Firm's Legal Administrator for more than 25 years, and their two sons are both attorneys with the Firm. Their daughters, Amanda and Priscilla, are both teachers.

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