Beeson ’44 Recognized in U.S. Senate

Duane Beeson ’44. Photo by Gloria La Riva/Media Workers Guild.

ON NOV. 27, Sen. Barbara Boxer paid tribute to Duane Beeson ’44, one of the nation’s leading practitioners of public and private sector labor law, in the U.S. Senate, which is now archived in the Congressional Record. She commended Beeson, 90, who had received the Peggy Browning Fund Award— which recognizes leaders in the labor community—for his tireless efforts and outstanding achievements on behalf of working men and women in the San Francisco Bay area.

“I have fond and indelible memories of Lafayette, which prepared me well for law school and the subsequent legal career I have had in representing labor unions,” says Beeson. “I am particularly indebted to Professor Eugene Chase, whose patience and sophistication fortified my inclination to look to the labor movement for a meaningful opportunity to practice law. Some of us will remember that he played an important role as a representative of the United States in the formation of the United Nations. I have never had any regrets about my choice of schools or legal career.”

A World War II veteran, Beeson received his degree in government and law after the war and earned an LL.B. at Harvard Law School in 1948. Senior partner in the law firm of Beeson, Tayer & Bodine, he is a member of the California State Bar, the Supreme Court of the United States Bar, and several United States District Courts and Courts of Appeal Bars.